Carl Anthony Trocki, 84, passed away on May 30, 2024, at his home in the Mooloolah Valley, Queensland, Australia after his two-year battle with prostate cancer which spread to his bones.  His passing was peaceful, and he was surrounded by his loving family at his bedside, including his wife Orrawin, son Carl, Carl’s partner Nicky, and grandsons Jordan and Christian Trocki. His daughter, Rebecca had visited earlier in the year from her home near Baltimore, MD and remained in contact by telephone. Over his last few months, he was visited by many family members and friends. His son played Bob Dylan songs on his guitar and his father touched his arm in appreciation.

Carl was the son of Carl Anthony Trocki and Helen Elizabeth August who both spent most of their lives in Erie, PA. Their son, Carl, was born in Buffalo, New York on January 4, 1940, in the middle of a raging blizzard that prevented his mother from getting to the hospital and almost prevented the doctor from getting to their house to deliver the baby.

Carl is survived by his wife Orrawin in Australia, daughter Rebecca Ruchana Trocki (John Schultz) of Dundalk, Maryland, son Carl Tagore Trocki (Nicky Dunshea) of Caloundra, and grandsons Jordan Trocki of Mooloolah Valley and Christian Trocki of the Gold Coast.

He was preceded in death by his parents and two of his siblings (Peter and Mary Ann) who both died as infants. However, he was the ‘big brother’ to his six surviving siblings: David Trocki, Karen Trocki (Laurence Michalak) and Mary Colette Vaughn, all of California; Stephen Trocki (Katie Lord) who live in Vancouver, British Columbia, Deborah Trocki, of Florida and Francine Michelle Slagle (Leonard) of Erie. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grand-nephews and nieces and friends and colleagues.

Carl spent most of his young years in Detroit, Michigan and Erie, PA. He attended Cathedral Preparatory School in Erie and graduated in the class of 1958. After high school he began attending Fenn College in Cleveland (now Cleveland State) which was interrupted by the Cuban Missile crisis when his reserve unit was activated. As a reservist, he was called up to serve in the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which sparked his interest in SEAsian history as his unit was supporting the CIA Psychological Warfare Department. As luck would have it, because of his ability to touch type, he was dismissed from field duties and worked behind a desk, where he came across a myriad of articles and documents regarding the burgeoning conflict in Vietnam. He graduated from Fenn in 1964 and was accepted to graduate school at Cornell University. He was awarded both a Woodrow Wilson and a Fulbright for graduate work but put those awards on hold to join the Peace Corps. He served in Sabah, Malaysia for two and a half years and during that time became proficient in several languages including Malay and Chinese.

Carl returned to the United States and attended Cornell University for his Doctorate, where he met his wife Orrawin Hemasilpin of Bangkok, Thailand, who was doing graduate work in nutrition. They married in 1968.  Their eldest child, Rebecca, was born shortly after in 1969 in Ithaca, NY.  The family then moved to Bangkok, Thailand to work and Carl received a grant to do research in Singapore. Then their son, Carl Tagore Trocki, was born in 1974 in Bangkok, Thailand.  After completing his field work for his dissertation, focus on Malaysia in the late 19th century, Carl was awarded his Doctorate from Cornell in 1975.

In 1977, the family moved back to the USA, settling in the Cincinnati, OH area, where Carl took up a teaching position at Thomas More College, Crestview Hills, KY.  In 1987, the family moved to the Washington, DC area where Carl began teaching at Georgetown University.  Finally in 1994, Carl took up a position as Professor of Asian Studies at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, where he worked until his retirement in the mid-2000s. 

As his family will attest, Carl was ‘wicked smart.’ His literary output was varied and rich. He had fierce political opinions. He volunteered at the 1968 democratic convention also known as the ‘siege of Chicago’ but remained a sane and fair-minded scholar of weight. As an example of his droll and wicked humour, he sometimes wrote under the pseudonym of L. D. Bronstein. The ‘real’ Bronstein, of course, was the co-leader of the Russian revolution and better known under his pseudonym of Leon Trotsky, which is the pronunciation of Carl’s family name in Polish.

Carl is the author of several books—Prince of Pirates (1979) on Malaysian and Singaporean history 1784-1885, Opium and Empire (1990) on the opium trade 1800-1910, Opium, Empire and the Global Political Economy (1999) on Asian opium trade 1750 to 1950 and Singapore: Wealth, Power and the Culture of Control (2005), which examines Singapore’s colonial heritage and the forces that have moulded its current social landscape. He was the editor of two other books and contributed many chapters and articles to other scholarly books and journals.

In Carl’s retirement, he spent a great deal of time dedicated to building an off-grid cabin, made from mostly recycled and rejected building materials at his 62-acre property in the hills of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.  He also volunteered with the local Eudlo fire brigade in community outreach.  He and his wife Orrawin spent many hours creating a permaculture farm on their property, as well as planting native vegetation and rainforest on a property that was once formerly a pineapple plantation.  He also spent much of his time dedicated to his lifelong pottery practice, where the family now enjoys countless examples of his work in their homes and displayed around his property and cabin.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 14 at 11:00am in Ilkely, Queensland at The Prideaux Estate. As per his wishes, Carl’s ashes will be scattered near his cabin in the Mooloolah Valley, as well as the South China Sea in Singapore and on Lake Erie at Presque Isle.