Thomas H. Flynn, M.D., 93, of Dartmouth, passed away, peacefully and with dignity Friday, May 24, 2013 at Charlton Memorial Hospital. He was the husband of Amelia (Salles) Flynn.
Born in Peabody, MA, the son the late Cornelius J. and Nora A. (McNamara) Flynn, he was a graduate of St. John's Prep School, St. Anselm College and Tufts University Medical School in 1945. While in Medical School, he was commissioned a Lieutenant on active duty in the United States Navy. The day after graduating Medical School, he married Amelia, who remained the love of his life for more than seventy years.
After serving his medical internship in California, he and Amelia returned to the Boston area, to further his medical training at the Chelsea Naval Hospital and Boston City Hospital. During this period, he also served as U.S. Naval Medical Office aboard ship in the North Atlantic.
In his mid thirties, he and Amelia settled in Dartmouth, MA and he began what was a very busy and successful, private practice in Obstetrics and Gynecology in the New Bedford area. He was well respected among patients and colleagues for his skill, dedication, compassion and wit. He was proud to have delivered thousands of babies and especially honored to have delivered five of his grandchildren.
Dr. Flynn loved life and lived it fully. In his early years, while not in school, he helped his father and brothers, with the trucking and livery business, which his father started and successfully ran for many years. During these years, he learned to ride horseback while working in the local stable. He thoroughly enjoyed riding and became an accomplished rider and participated in many horse shows and steeple jumping events. He was even honored to to be chosen to ride with several polo teams when they were short a team member. He proudly and with humor, recalled those events into his later days. During these years he also learned to play golf, while working at the local course. While in college, due to his high academic achievement, he earned the honor of being chosen to receive training as a pilot for the U.S. Military. During those years he thoroughly enjoy flying "his plane" and late into his life he happily reminisced about his flying adventures.
During his years of active medical practice, he enjoyed sailing, both competitive racing and cruising, with friends and family aboard. He enjoyed offshore sailing to Bermuda, Halifax and through the Caribbean and the waters from Florida to Maine. He loved being in the mountains of New England, and enjoyed many years downhill skiing the slopes of Cannon Mountain with his family. He cross country skied the trails of Bretton Woods well into his seventies. He was an active tennis player and later in his retirement years, spent in Punta Gorda, FL, he returned to the golf course. He was an avid reader and enjoyed reading about his Irish ancestry, of which he was very proud. He was active member of The New Bedford Yacht Club and the Wamsutta Club. He was a communicant of St. Mary's Church in Dartmouth.
Survivors include his wife; 3 sons, Thomas K. Flynn and his wife Ingrid of Newport, RI, John F. Flynn of Dartmouth and Paul M. Flynn and his wife Wendy of Essex, CT; 2 daughters, Amy F. Hood of Taunton and Nancy F. Siegal and her husband Henry of Hopkinton, MA; 5 grandchildren, Charles Siegal and his wife Meghan, David Siegal, Annie Pappenfort and her husband Graham, Alexandra Sowell and Ellie Flynn; 7 great-grandchildren, Sally, Walter and Louisa Siegal, Henry and Frederick Pappenfort, Averie and Crosby Sowell; and several nieces and nephews.
He was the grandfather of the late Patrick Flynn and the brother of the late Mary Flynn, Leonard Flynn and Cornelius Flynn, Jr.
His Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, July 25th at 10 AM in St. Mary's Church, Dartmouth.