In Memoriam, Tom Flynn

Tom didn’t believe in magic, but he was magical. How else to describe this unlikely combination of brilliance, charm, vision, and roll-up-your-sleeves accomplishment?

He saved the legacy of the Great Agnostic, Robert Green Ingersoll, from obscurity. He carried the torch for atheism, secular humanism, and clear-eyed rationality for decades with his powerful and copious writings and speeches—undoubtedly helping to cause the Rise of the Nones. All while cracking jokes and delighting everyone in his orbit. And how lucky we were to be part of it.

Robyn Blumner

The death of Tom Flynn is a tragedy of epic proportions for everyone who cares about the equality of atheists anywhere in the world. He was our conscience against religious bigotry. He was our conscience against irrational action and thought. His razor sharp humor and wit were simply unmatched. The best way that we can honor Tom’s memory and all the magnificent work that he did is to continue to devote ourselves to ending religious bigotry anywhere and everywhere.

Eddie Tabash

Tom was one of the most funny, clever, and sharp-witted people I have known. He was somehow able to find light and bring smiles to our faces in every circumstance. I am honored to have worked with him on Free Inquiry and the Ingersoll Museum. Tom’s vision and direction for both applications will change Secular Humanism forever. He will truly be missed.

Alex Nicaise

I always looked forward to sitting with Tom at lunch during our CFI meetings in Amherst. Just sitting and listening to him speak was a true privilege!!

Bertha Vazquez

I’d like to think we atheists grieve more honestly than believers because we’re reasonably sure there’s no “better place” after death, so we confront the reality of someone being gone without platitudes. All we recognize is void and our sadness.

I never met Tom in the flesh. All I had was an online connection, and I’ve spent the last several December 25ths with him anti-celebrating the mass idiocy that is Christmas. This year that won’t happen, and that’s just sad. His memory will live on, and that will have to be enough.

Pamela Koslyn

RIP Tom. You were always so funny and kind. I’ll miss you.

Alice Pine

When I first met Tom he honestly scared me a little. But over the last 25 years I came to really like Tom and enjoyed conversations with him on everything from philosophy, to the Bills, to sci-fi movies, and so many other topics. Tom was so bright and had a vocabulary that had me looking up words after we had our “Monday Morning Meetings on Tuesday”. If you were ever a CFI staff member you will know what I mean. I always thought that if I wound up on the game show and was able to call somebody to help me with a question, it would be Tom. I also loved how much he cared for his wife, Sue. I remember going to their wedding and I never saw Tom happier. He had a biggest smile all day long. I have so many great memories of Tom. He will be missed.

Paul Paulin

I was very fortunate to have met Tom and interacted with him at several conferences. I learned a lot from him and will miss hearing him talk about working on Christmas Day. My condolences to his family.

John Kiel

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Flynn at a secular humanist conference on the Hill Cumorah Pageant in New York. He gave me a ride to the airport when I missed my bus. He was very kind as well as smart and dedicated. I would like to express my deepest condolences to all his friends and family. 

Richard Rasmussen

My first impression of Tom Flynn came at a CFI conference where he made an impassioned and urgent fundraising pitch. I thought to myself, “I have never seen anyone plea for money with such dignity!” Of course, I responded.

As I got to know Tom better, I have grown to admire him for his scholarship, advocacy for humanism, oratory skills, and a wicked sense of humor. I will miss him.

Sherry Sheng

As a former CFI board member and Free Inquiry contributor I am deeply mourning our loss of Tom’s polymathic historical, scientific, and philosophical knowledge; his exceptional, insightful editing; and, of course, his wit. From now on I’ll be asking myself, “What Would Tom Do?” He’d get a kick out of that! May his memory be my guide.

Judy Walker

The loss of a great secular humanist carries its own form of sadness. The secular humanism community takes little comfort in the notion that we all might see Tom again in a better place. Who knows how old he would be if we did, right? Rather, the secular humanism community is left with fond memories and a reminder that behavior matters, even without the hope of an afterlife. Thanks Tom for being an inspirational secular humanist. Rest in peace.

Craig Foster

Stunned and crushed – I’d met him at the 2018 Silver Anniversary of the Robert Green Ingersoll Birthplace Museum conference and bus tour on which he was a genial co-host, and we’d corresponded by e-mail since then and as recent as last month. I’d contributed photos and research to the Freethought Trail website, and had connected him in June with Bob Cudmore, host of the podcast The Historians. The episode wherein he was interviewed about the Freethought Trail (recorded in July) is scheduled to be broadcast this Friday, August 27th.

Christopher Philippo

Tom was an amazing editor, and it was a raw pleasure to work with him on FREE INQUIRY — a publication that always, always made me happy every time I got it in the mail.

I also had the pleasure to spend a week with Tom (and others) on Lesbos, Greece. His sharp/dry wit was perpetually on fire; he constantly had me and my wife cracking up.

He was funny, smart, warm — what more could the world ask for?

He will be desperately missed.

Phil Zuckerman

I knew Tom for over 20 years and always enjoyed being around him. Even though I worked in the back part of the building I’d sometimes pop into his office, uninvited, and just plop down on one of his chairs and ask him what he was up to. Usually he was working on some article, or video editing, or helping Joe research something. His laugh was infectious and he always made time for me and others. Tom was a workhorse and I don’t think he really was fully appreciated for all he did, on the Ingersoll museum, the road trips, and everything else. He was unfailingly fairminded and willing to listen to other points of view. I hadn’t seen him in recent years but I thought of him just a few months ago when I saw his book “Galactic Rapture” on sale at a used bookstore here in Albuquerque. I smiled widely and took a photo, I thought he’d like to see it. I miss him greatly.

Benjamin Radford

Tom was a kind, patient man. I recently worked very closely with him on an article I had written. We must have gone back and forth ten times with lots of rewrites. It was perfection that he sought. I was always appreciative of his comments and advice. I’m still a bit in shock. It’s a loss for all of humankind.

Mark Cagnetta

I was so sorry to hear about Tom’s death. His book The Trouble with Christmas was one of the steps along my way out of religion. I still have my copy, and try to share it with my students whenever possible; the list of reasons not to lie to children about Santa is priceless.

I also attended a lecture Flynn gave a few years ago — I live in Columbia MO, and he was speaking in either KC or St. Louis on the Trouble with Christmas and I drove there just to see the talk. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve appreciated his efforts to get Robert Ingersoll recognized as a leading light. The movement will miss him.

Lisa Isaacson

Although I’ve only been with CFI approaching close to a year, it was my pleasure working with Tom for the time that we shared. Tom was always welcoming, warm hearted, dressed SHARP and a delight to be around. We most recently had a pizza party at the Amherst headquarters where Tom treated us to his presence. Tom, you will be missed, Danke, sir!

Shaun White

Devastated is the only word that fully applies. Tom Flynn was a brilliant thinker and writer, and that he gave such other-worldly talent to our small organization is a blessing without measure. His passing, through the only tears I have shed over such an unwelcome event in memory, shall serve only to inspire me to share, with all his admirers, a rededication of purpose to perpetuate and advance our movement. We must honor and build on his greatness and what he has given us. We cannot, we simply must not, let Tom down.

Paul Shelton

Tom Flynn did as much for secular humanism as anyone I know. He leaned into his role as secular curmudgeon, but beneath the gruff exterior, he was a deeply caring individual. If only the rest of the world understood what Tom understood: that thoughtful tough love beats the hell out of sappy, sentimental love. He was smart and incisive, remarkably cogent and invariably clear-minded. His editorial skills left my articles for Free Inquiry the stronger, and it was always a pleasure working with him. Thank you, Tom: you will be missed.

Andy Norman

I only met him in person once, when he came to Long Island to speak. But from reading his work in Free Inquiry, I felt as if he were a friend. And I feel now as if I had lost a close friend.

Eugene Edelstein

I have read everything Tom Flynn has written in FI for the past 30 years or so, including the OP-ED in the current issue (‘Will World Population Drop Far Enough, Fast Enough?’) I will miss his knowledge, his opinions, his concern, his wit. My deepest condolences.

Imre G. Toth

Thanks for all you have done to promote reason and free thought.

I hope you will have inspired many more to do so.

I regret not to have known you.

Condolences and best regards to friends and family.

Jonathan Squire

I didn’t know Tom well, but I was very impressed when I heard him speak at CFI. He was incredibly talented as a writer and editor. I really admired this man, and his passing is a terrible loss to freethinkers everywhere.

Laurence Mailaender

I am shocked and saddened to hear of Tom’s death. He was a brilliant, witty man and a great speaker with a wonderful sense of humor. He was kind enough to travel here several times over the years to speak to the Humanists of Fort Worth, and he always drew our biggest audiences. We will miss him greatly.

Sam Baker

From a humanist in New Zealand: I didn’t know the man and I had never met him in person, but I’ve been reading Tom Flynn’s writings for so many years now, I feel like I’ve lost a friend. I could always rely on his wit and intellect and, without really thinking about it, I had come to see him as the face of American secular humanism. I can’t believe he’s gone. My sincere condolences to all his family and friends.

Andrew Gladman

I’m deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Tom Flynn, one of freethought’s greatest champions. He was immensely kind to me when I started doing my own research on Robert Ingersoll, an influential figure whose memory Flynn kept alive for decades. He will be sorely missed.

Justin Clark

Words fail. Dammit, Tom, I miss you.

Steve Cuno

I met Tom only once but had the chance to chat with him. I was starstruck.

Thank you, Tom, for all you have accomplished.

Yves Lacroix

Given the death of Tom Flynn, it’s another sad day for secular humanism. I first met Tom at a leadership training at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, NY, probably sometime between 2000 and 2005. He was an intelligent, satirical, witty, and sometimes curmudgeonly humanist and atheist. I enjoyed being around him. He visited our small chapter of CFI in Tallahassee, Florida, a few times, and once delivered his assault-on-Christmas lecture. I submitted probably five to seven articles to Free Inquiry of which Tom was the editor, and he was always helpful with these submissions, even allowing some of my more radical ideas to pass. Tom was a champion, perhaps THE champion of reason. I will miss him, as will the rest of the secular humanist community.

Gary Whittenberger

I first encountered Tom when he contacted me about preserving Ingersoll’s birthplace in Dresden, NY. My grandfather, Arthur G. Cromwell and I still have our names on the property and he wanted us to sign off on it. Art was gone and I was ecstatic that someone or some organization wanted to restore and protect the place! The legalities were a bit questionable, but I was more than happy to be of what little assistance I could. What Tom and The Center have done to restore and preserve the Ingersoll House over the ensuing years is both remarkable and a major contribution to the memory of the “Great Orator” and renowned agnostic is a real tribute to his memory! It has been an honor to have known him! The freethought community has, indeed, lost a lion!

Dr. James T. McCollum

Calling Tom a renaissance man hardly covered his contributions to our world. He wrote, edited, spoke, organized and led. His a/v duties alone required keeping up with everything from Beta and VHS to hi-def — not to mention, writing, recording, and editing the videos. Oh and then there’s all the other stuff he did…

His courageous stewardship of Free Inquiry magazine through some controversial issues made us all proud to be associated with that publication. FI was top-notch under his care.

Personally, I just looked forward to seeing him. I laughed at his corny puns — mostly because he knew they were corny and spoke them anyway. He was a decent man who was always willing to help someone less knowledgeable than he — which was just about everyone.

I’ll miss him. We all will.

James Underdown

Well, such SAD News! I receive and read the great CFI and Free Inquiry mag newsletters simply because back about 15 yrs ago I contacted the author Susan Jacoby in NYC about advice about a special little hard cover book i was given by a free thinking, atheist anti-religiosity friend before he passed away in Brooklyn, called Crimes of Christianity, by G. W. Foote and J.M. Wheeler, 1887, London. Inside the front cover was a handscripted signing, signed by both authors and book gifted to yes, Col. Ingersoll.

I wanted to get it authenticated, it was a 2nd printing. Well she personally told me on a phone call to contact Tom at the Council for Secular Humanism and the Ingersoll Museum, she gave me his contact information. Well, Tom and I really hit it off we both had certain recovered catholic traits, schools, all that, similar ages, he a bit younger than me(now 70).

I sent photos and descriptions of the book and he was very gracious and asked if anything, since he had no budget to buy it at the time, could I send it to him at the Ingersoll museum and he would look at it, and if I could, would I donate it if it seems authentic. Well it was! He contacted me and I gladly donated it. I believe to is still there at the museum collection. In return he subscribed me to Free Inquiry mag and CFI newsletters, and he sent me signed copy of his great book The Trouble with Christmas and a few nice prints of Roycroft copies of Ingersoll pamphlets. I cherish them. We had great conversation and a few follow up emails. I considered them of value to me & saved them.

Each time we spoke he left me feeling refreshed in the free thought of humor and common secular humanism values.

So Sad to hear of his passing.

Bruce Robertson (70 yr old pure agnostic anti-religion geezer)

This is such terrible news! Working with Tom at the Center for Inquiry–despite the work load on the editorial department–was always such a pleasure. On the surface, I groaned at his frequent puns and such, but, inside, I looked forward to them. I remember a day when Tom was standing near my desk and another hapless employee emerged from his office, pulling on his jacket and saying: “Chilly today!” Tom and I, in eerily perfect unison, recited: “Chilly today, hot tamale . . . the Mexican weather forecast!” I added: “A comedy classic!” And Tom pointed out (correctly): “And we didn’t rehearse that!” And we hadn’t. The aforementioned other employee never fully recovered. Like me, Tom had absorbed all the worst and oldest jokes known to humankind. I send my condolences and best wishes to those who knew him better and more recently stood in the presence of him, his humor, and his genuine dedication to the cause of humanism–and humans…

David Park Musella

My husband and I subscribed to Free Inquiry maybe 12 years ago. I read everything Tom Flynn wrote. I wrote an article which he accepted right away. My last sentence was something like “What if the Queen of England, head of the Church of England, figured out that there is no God. What is she supposed to do?”

My letter in the LA Times just 6 days ago (8/19) was in relation to the meaningless quarrel within the Catholic Church whether communion should be given to supporters of abortion. Thanks to Tom I had just read a biography of Thomas Paine and my last sentence in the letter was “So for me and the great numbers of people worldwide who have figured out that there is no God, we hope that these petty quarrels over nothing evolve into a recognition that we can all believe in science and perhaps adopt the philosophy of Thomas Paine: “My country is the world and my religion is to do good.” I forwarded it to him and he wrote an email back which included a WOW. Tom Flynn will live in my heart. I send my condolences to all of you at the Center and of course to Tom’s family. It’s a great loss.

Jane Roberts

I had the distinct honor and pleasure of dinner with Tom many years ago, and a smattering of emails and texts since. Tom was an imposing and intrepid intellect, one of the shining stars of Secularism. It was deeply shocking and profoundly saddening to hear of his passing, and he will be sorely missed. Fortunately, much of his good works and writings will still be with us, both as testament and torchlight in the ongoing fight for science, reason, and Enlightenment values.

Rob Russell

When I think of Tom Flynn I remember a person with an amazingly nimble mind, a great depth of information on a wide range of subjects, a powerful voice softened by a gentle smile, and great love of puns.

I had a long conversation with him one day about Sunday Assemblies just as they were starting up. He was steadfastly against them. He decried the use of tactics that used the innate features of human psychology to instill feelings of fellowship and, even worse, trustworthiness. He knew those things worked and that made it worse. By exposing people to these techniques we were implicitly approving of them and thereby giving more power to those that use them for less lofty purposes.

I pointed out that humans, as social primates, are hardwired to experience positive reactions to such events. He smiled and replied, “Yes, but we can help with that”.

Leonard Tramiel

The news of Tom Flynn suddenly passing away has hit me as hard as the deaths of very close friends (and I have lost quite a few), even though I never had the privilege of meeting him (much to my regret). I always looked forward to his reviews & editorials as I found we shared many ideas & beliefs. As a Free Inquiry subscriber for almost 20 years, how can I cope with this loss? I am so glad that a Memorial Fund has been established. Thank you Center for Inquiry for keeping the flame lit.

Richard Vaughn

I will never forget how excited Tom was when several of the newer staff members and interns told him about how much we enjoyed our trip to the Ingersoll museum. He was genuinely really happy to know that something he was so passionate about was also a great experience for other people. Sad to hear that he’s no longer around to keep sharing his love of freethought with the next generation.

Dren Asselmeier

Tom will surely be missed. Our best winter solstice dinner was when we were fortunate enough to sit at Tom’s table. He was quite the funny, irreverent guy.

Brooks Rimes

Tom was not only brilliant, wise and talented but he was kind and gentle. The rivalries between the competing atheist organizations did not faze him. Even though I worked for a different atheist organization, I enjoyed interesting and provocative conversations with Tom at conventions. We will miss him.

Jane Everhart

Tom ranks as one of the best editors I’ve had to date bar none. To say his absence will be sorely missed is a major understatement.

Becky Garrison

The loss of Tom Flynn is so very unfortunate. Mr. Flynn was such a fine, intelligent, knowledgeable, and inspirational man of unbreakable integrity. People like him are so rare to find in any age, especially in this one that has been going rapidly awry for many years. He will be missed enormously as we hope others may arise out of the ashes of foolishness to get ourselves on more sensible tracks.

Richard Mammel

I met Tom at a SWiFT program several years ago. I did not get a chance to know him, however, I feel that I got to know him through his writings and programs on line. He will be missed.

Jack Holmes

I met with Tom many years ago when, as I seem to recall now, he came up to Quebec to inquire about skeptic and atheist activities and organizations here. We had a delightful lunch, during which Tom’s humor and charm were on full display. A good man gone far too soon; a great loss especially for our communities of skeptics and atheists.

George Englebretsen

Tom Flynn was my favorite magazine editor and writer and Free Inquiry was my favorite magazine. When an issue arrived, I went first to Tom’s editorials and introductions and to articles by him. I was never disappointed.

Paul Heffron

I met Tom in the early 80’s when he first joined the staff in Buffalo… We joked about his Christmas stance. Of course it is not anyone’s birthday. It is the winter solstice, a time for atheists to celebrate.

After several decades away from Buffalo, I decided to reconnect with him. In preparing an email I learned the tragic news. I am so sorry I did not write to him last year!

Robert (Bob) Wisne

I don’t think I have felt the full impact of this loss just yet. I will miss his FI columns, his opinions, his Facebook posts and their absences will add to the feeling of something that was good is now missing.

Gerry Dantone

I only had one brief conversation with Tom. It was at a conference in Las Vegas and we talked about his efforts to get excommunicated. I’m sorry we didn’t have more opportunities.

Paul Kohlmiller

The eight years I have been with CFI have been full of intellectual and professional satisfaction, and Tom was an immeasurably large part of that. I still cannot wrap my head around not having one more argument, one more discussion, one more punning session with him. Vale, Tom. Christmas, and so much else, won’t be the same without you!

Nick Little

The Yates County History Center sends our deepest condolences to all. The Robert Green Ingersoll Museum lies within our county and it was a great pleasure to meet Tom and host him for lectures. What a tremendous loss.

Lisa Harper

I recall Tom as a very dynamic person. Since my very first visit to the headquarters of CFI at Amherst, one of my hosts was Tom. Almost inmediatly he video-recorded a very short statement from me saying ” I do not believe in the Catholic church.” And in another visit he filmed fire-walkers, including me, nearby the CFI.

Manuel Paz-y-Mino
Center for Inquiry Peru

I’m a retired professor who was the faculty advisor for CFI on Campus at Gulf Coast State College which I started at a student’s request. Tom was very friendly to this stranger at a a Reason Rally party and took time out to have an interesting conversation about the goals and struggles of CFI. He will be missed.

Richard Baldwin

At the end of this year I will have been with CFI for 14 years. The very first time I was in a room with Tom, we were in a staff meeting. Someone asked Tom to stand up and say a word. He stood up and with a straight face said “A Word.” Then he sat down. I remember sitting there with my mouth open thinking “What the “heck” was that?!?” It was all downhill from there.

I miss him already.

Rosemarie Giambrone

I met Tom at a convention once. He was a very nice and intelligent person and I have learned a lot from his writing and from the freethought documentary he did a few years ago. We can all reach much farther by standing on his shoulders. The world will not be the same without him in it.

David Hubbs

I spent a Christmas with Tom–virtually–and we went about our ordinary day together. During that day I bought a signed copy of “The Trouble with Christmas,” a book I now treasure even more. It was a happy Christmas, spent with a soul-mate whom I will never meet but was not a stranger. He left us too soon, and I will miss him–his warmth, his humor, his brilliance, and most of all his goodness.

Careen Jennings

I have Tom to thank for encouraging many of my publications outside of academia, including much of my work on religious tax exemptions. He was smart, insightful, extremely knowledgeable, and wickedly funny. He will be sorely missed!

Ryan Cragun

Tom was so much fun. From discussing if having one kid was still zero population growth or not, bringing him cookies at work on 12/25, watching him debate fundamentalists, sharing a fish fry on Darwin’s birthday…

The world is a poorer place without him.

Gina Maria Kleinmartin

I only knew Tom through events and correspondence. He once called me a biblical scholar, which pleased me greatly,. I am very saddened by his loss. He was a great light in the secular humanist community. He has left a full legacy of writings and thoughts, as well as the many memories of those who knew him.

Ruthe Rustin

Although I did not know Tom Flynn very well, we were at best, acquaintances, I considered him a friend. I suspect everyone who ever met him felt that way. Tom had a warm and inviting personality that just made you happy to be around him. I always thought of him as our best public face. I miss him terribly.

Jim MacIver

I only met Tom once.

I arrived late to one of his rare presentations in San Diego due to an error in the announcement flyer. I shook hands with him, congratulated him on his great books, mentioned that I love his sci-fi book Galactic Rapture. He told me the next one was coming out. I remember being overjoyed at this bit of news. Indeed I love Tom’s sense of humor. Nobody cracks better jokes about religion.

I have been always looking for his editorials, so full of interesting observations, clear analysis of current trends and situations. I will always regret not getting to know him personally.

Rest in peace, dear Tom Flynn, you sure deserve it.

Serge Ansay

Being so fortunate to get to know, and then work closely with, Tom count as major events in my life. It didn’t take long to realize that his curmudgeonly exterior served a purpose but in no way defined the thoughtful, talented, and truly good man he was. He seemingly did everything—certainly everything CFI, CSH, and the wider freethought community needed him to do—and did everything so very well, all the while maintaining his sense of humor. We owe him so much! I know there is nothing beyond this earthly plain, but if there were and in keeping with my naval background, I’d surely wish you fair winds and following seas my friend. I miss you.

Brian Engler

Another great and irreplaceable man lost. I am deeply saddened.

I met Tom many times over the years. His sense of humor and brilliance made him stand out among the many intellectuals associated with the Center for Inquiry. That he was unique is a large understatement.

It was a great honor for us that he attended our wedding at CFI in 2002. His friendly greetings on our visits always made us feel more than just welcome, but part of the CFI family.

Such a gentle and empathetic man.

Thank you, Tom, for being the wonderful person you were.

Douglas Kinney

Tom was always a good friend, colleague, and secular mentor. He and I spent many hours discussing various aspects of politics, philosophy, and the secular movement throughout the US, Canada, and around the globe. I had the pleasure of speaking alongside Tom at many conferences and writing for him as my editor with The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief. He was, without doubt, one of the most helpful and patient editors with whom I have had the pleasure of working. I shall miss his devotion to the cause, his razor-sharp wit, but most of all, I shall miss his friendship.

Christopher DiCarlo

I can’t recall exactly when I met Tom – we go back to the early 1990s at least – but one thing I do know is that my life has been enriched because I had the privilege of knowing him. Few others in humanism could muster the combination of erudition, passion and humor that Tom brought to this cause. We are poorer for his loss, and our challenge is to honor his memory by working even harder for the causes that inspired him – secular humanism, scientific integrity, reason-based values and church-state separation, to name a few. On a personal note, I will miss emailing Tom on Christmas Day, knowing that he would be at work – that was a holiday tradition!

Rob Boston

A life well lived and much achieved for himself and for freethinkers everywhere. A tireless advocate for the non-theistic viewpoint, Mr. Flynn was a beacon of courage and hope against a rising tide of magical thinking. He will be missed. Freethinkers will do honor to his memory by picking up the mantle and being a voice for and defender of rational thinking and knowledge-based decision-making.

Michael Koller

I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the death of Tom Flynn. I’ve never met him personally, but he’s always been on my (very short) list of people I’d love to meet.

Within the past few years, Tom accepted five of my articles for publication in Free Inquiry. When he accepted a couple without modification, I was delighted. When he suggested revisions to others, I incorporated them without question, simply because they always resulted in improvements. He was simply brilliant, both as a writer and an editor.

Robyn Blumner has promised Tom’s legacy will be honored and protected, which gives me hope that my favorite magazine will continue to be the leading periodical of the freethought movement, uncompromised by political correctness or academic pomposity. But Tom, I will greatly miss you.

Dan Davis

Tom’s attempt to get himself excommunicated from the Catholic Church inspired me to do the same, and I succeeded. Thank you, Tom.

David Montani

Tom was lamenting some 15 years as a Catholic.
I sent and email and explained 25 years as an Irish Catholic and 7 years as a seminarian. To my surprise his congratulations came quickly and was well received. Over the years (I’m 71) I lament missing the chance to meet Carl Sagan. I’ve had the joy of meeting Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, might as well throw in Princess Sophia of Spain and Pope Paul VI. But my post Covid quest was to meet Tom Flynn! I am so saddened.

Carpe Diem!! (God is a fish?) I can see Tom smiling at that.

Michael Murphy

I recall his erudite article in Free Inquiry about trying to get excommunicated from the Catholic Church. After reading his article, I also “applied for excommunication” from the pedophile religion only to run into similar ridiculous reasons that I did not “qualify”; I do.

I always looked forward to his observations and insight. It’s saddened me to know he’s gone.

Peter Somers

On August 21, Tom confirmed a date (November 22) to come here to Cincinnati to celebrate with us the 30th anniversary of the Free Inquiry Group. He was looking forward to it. He died two days later. I know he had other travel planned for October as well. I don’t believe he had an inkling. To call his death a shock is an understatement – it stuns.

FIG was coalescing in 1989, the same year Tom began working for (then) CODESH, and the following year Tom accompanied Paul Kurtz and Tim Madigan (the Center’s Three Horsemen, as they seemed to me when they arrived) to join us for our first public meeting. Tom even remembered the venue’s name and its address.

Of course Tom was no stranger to Cincinnati, having spent his undergraduate years at Xavier University, a Jesuit school (“where the emphasis on philosophy and theology gave him the tools he needed to pursue his religious questions at a more serious level. Over several years of inquiry he rejected his Catholicism, then his Christianity, and ultimately his theism,” a Center obit states.)

Over the years we saw Tom several more times here. One visit I remember in particular was for a two-day conference for the 1,000th anniversary of Omar Khayyam, replete with a Persian feast and mother and daughter belly dancers. For November, Tom was planning to “dust off and update” his “The Trouble with Christmas” presentation – to be called “More Trouble with Christmas” – and possibly his Anti-Claus persona. Tom reminded me that the first public presentation of “The Trouble with Christmas” was here for FIG at founders’ Joe and Barbara Levee’s house.

The Center calls Tom its “beating heart” and “North Star.” I’m sure all felt he had decades more to share. We (at FIG) have decided to dedicate the November program to celebrating Tom and would like to find someone who’d be willing to replace him (replacing the irreplaceable). The thing about Tom is the contribution of his work, thought and humanity were so vital that strangely he feels as alive as ever and I’m sure will long so remain for humanists everywhere.

William Messer

We are all shocked and terribly saddened by Tom’s death. He was, indeed, a giant among us, so committed to sharing ideals of respect for all people, such a brilliant thinker and such a fine writer. His work on historic sites relating to freethought connected so many threads of reform–the Underground Railroad and women’s rights chief among them. Your work was so well done, Tom, and your legacy lives on, empowering us all.

Judith Wellman

I only met Tom once but had articles in Free Inquiry . Upon my mother’s death he emailed me “You’re in my thoughts if not my prayers.” That seems a good way to remember Tom and the same can be said about his premature death.

Alex Nussbaum

I have eagerly opened Free Inquiry magazine for the last 30 years to turn first to Tom’s editorial. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak but once, but unusual for me, I still remember the content of his address. We will miss his wisdom.

Bruce Anderson

A kinder person would be hard to find. Tom was always available to answer questions and offer advice.

We were fortunate to have Tom give his, “The Trouble With Christmas” presentation to the RIT Skeptics and the Atheist Community of Rochester, at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

What a special experience!

Christopher Erbland

My interaction with Tom was short, but still significant to me. He agreed to review something I had written, and I was incredibly honored by this fact. I was humbled that someone with his impressive background would take interest in the writings of a stranger. I looked forward to getting to know him better. My thoughts are with all of Tom’s family and friends. The world is better because of Tom.

Steve Dow