THOMAS FLORY
1947-2021
Thomas Holmes Flory, age 73, passed from this life on February 14, with family at his side. For a year and a half he fought with grace and determination through multiple rounds of cancer treatment and the worst months of the pandemic. He is survived by his wife of fifty-one years, Rae, sons David and James, daughter-in-law Jen, grandson Max, brother Mark, sister Anne, sisters-in-law Libby and Barbara, his nieces and nephews, and many friends, especially Bart and Bonnie Wulff and Bobby and Sandra Duffey. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. David Wright Flory and Marjorie Holmes Flory.
Tom was often described as brilliant, gifted, and kind by those who met him, and even sometimes by family members. As a young man he earned a doctorate in Latin American history at the University of Texas, Austin, mastered several languages, wrote a book, and taught at the University of Michigan. When none of those achievements allowed him to provide for his family, he made a dramatic change, beginning a banking career at Texas Commerce Bank, on the border where he grew up. That willingness to sacrifice a coveted academic position and start over is a testament to the devoted husband and father that he was. He had no way of knowing that his second career would take him all over the Americas as a managing director at some of the largest banks in the world. Even so, Tom often said, and Rae agreed, those years raising their boys on a friendly border, near the Gulf, with interesting people in interesting times, were among the best years of their life together.
In his too-short retirement, Tom and Rae began traveling again, as they had done as graduate students, albeit in somewhat different style. Tom served on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, Austin, from 2011-2019, and pursued his love of history and the arts. He was always a good cook; his culinary achievements in retirement cannot be overstated.
When it is possible to gather again, a private memorial service in the tradition of the Episcopal Church, of which he was a lifetime member, will be held to celebrate Tom’s life. Memorial gifts may be made to St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin TX.