STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — He was happiest on the links or behind an easel.
Thomas R. Flannagan, 93, who devoted more than five decades to informing and entertaining readers as the golf columnist and editorial cartoonist for the Advance/SILive.com, died Sunday in the Verrazano Nursing Center, Tompkinsville, of complications from dementia.
A lifelong Staten Islander, Mr. Flannagan was also a devoted husband and father.
“He was a good man with good values that he instilled in us,” said his eldest daughter, Kim Flannagan. “He brought us up right and took good care of us as a family.”
Tom on the course.Third-Party-Submitted
Born on March 31, 1932, Mr. Flannagan was raised in Sunnyside with his two sisters. His father, Thomas J. Flannagan, was a city bus driver. His mother, the former Helen Quinlan, was a homemaker.
After graduating from Curtis High School, he completed correspondence courses with the Famous Artists School and Cartoonerama in pursuit of his passion for illustration.
He met his future wife, the former Linda Thompson, on a blind date at Demyan’s Hofbrau, the legendary tavern formerly located in Stapleton. They were married on May 26, 1961 in a City Hall ceremony and settled in Westerleigh, where they raised three daughters.
Tom at an Advance golf outing in 1997. (Staten Island Advance/Rob Sollet)advance
FIVE DECADES AT THE ADVANCE
A hard worker who enjoyed holding more than one job at a time, Mr. Flannagan was a foreman for the city Department of Environmental Protection for 20 years until retiring on disability.
He joined the Advance as a part-time golf columnist and editorial cartoonist in April 1962, and continued with the newspaper into his 80s, serving in a variety of newsroom roles.
Advance editors frequently called upon Mr. Flannagan to sketch cartoons for the editorial pages that addressed local and political issues such as campaigns, legislation and quality-of-life problems. He was assigned to cover trials with his sketches whenever cameras were not allowed in the courtroom.
Through the 1980s, Mr. Flannagan teamed up with longtime Advance copy editor Martha Bendix to co-author the daily Inside Out column of social news and gentle gossip about Staten Island and Staten Islanders.
“He loved the Advance, he loved the people there,” said his daughter, Kim.
“Tom was in many ways a renaissance man – a golfer, a writer, an artist, and above all else a gentleman,” remembered Advance/SILive.com Publisher Caroline Harrison. “There wasn’t a golf event on Staten Island without Tom covering it for the Advance/SILive. He knew everyone and everyone knew him. And he was as good with a club in his hand as he was with a pen,” she said.
A Flannagan sketch — somewhere on the North Shoretom
“He was also a sharp cartoonist and talented illustrator, helping to tell the story with beautiful images and occasional satire. And then there were the holiday ornaments he created in his signature hand,” the publisher recalled.
Pat Hart, left, Tom Flannagan, Ann Marie Henderson and Meg O’Hare at the Staten Island Women’s Golf Association awards dinner, where Tom was honored in 1998.advance
“He was a cherished member of the Advance family, as well as being a Staten Island institution. My heart goes out to his family at this time. Tom will be greatly missed and always remembered.”
He was also a freelance artist who specialized in portraits, caricatures and watercolor portraits of Staten Island homes.
New York City Amateur Golf Championship chairman Matt Zuntag, left, presented founding member of the tournament Tom Flannagan with a plaque. (Staten Island Advance/Stephen Hart) SStaff-Shot
STATEN ISLAND’S ‘MR. GOLF’
Mr. Flannagan elevated golf across the Island with “Hooks and Slices,” his long-running weekly column in the Advance, and with his own love of the sport.
“To borrow a page from the great Bob Hope, we say, ‘Thanks for the memories,’” he wrote when the column ended in 2016.
“Golf was his passion,” said Lou Bergonzi, former Advance sports editor. “I think he was most happy on the golf course, or writing about it, or talking about it. Of all the sports writers at the Advance, Tom was the one most closely associated with the sport he covered. He was ‘Mr. Golf’ on Staten Island.”
A Flannagan sketchStaff-Shot
“Tom was always held in high regard by the local golf community,” added Joe D’Amodio, Advance/SILive.com sports manager. “He was their voice on certain topics and their personal reporter and encyclopedia on everything Staten Island golf. No one delivered a golf report or column quite like Tom.”
Dan Ostrowski, left, and Tom Flannagan, standing, right, after 18 holes. (Courtesy/Andrew Ostrowski) Staten Island Advance
Mr. Flannagan favored Silver Lake Golf Course, close to home. His aunt lived behind the 17th hole, which inspired him to start playing at the age of 11.
His second favorite course was the Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.
He made the sport a family affair, often bringing his daughters along for a game or practice. His daughter Kim recalled as a teenager accompanying her father to the course after dinner. As darkness fell, Mr. Flannagan would stuff a white handkerchief in each hole to illuminate them and extend the playing time.
“We were a golfing family,” she said. “He was a great teacher. He loved the game and made so many friends along the way.”
Yogi Berra and Tom Flannagan during a March of Dimes golf outing in 2005.advance
Mr. Flannagan played his last nine holes at Silver Lake when he was 89, she added wistfully.
SURVIVORS AND ARRANGEMENTS
In addition to Linda, his wife of 64 years, Mr. Flannagan is survived by his daughters, Kim Flannagan, Theresa Boyle (Michael) and Susan Pedersen (Steve), and three grandchildren, Steven Pedersen, Emily Boyle and Jack Pedersen. He was predeceased by his parents and two sisters.
A wake will be held at Matthew Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Willowbrook, on Thursday from 2 to 6 p.m. A funeral Mass will take place on Friday at 11 a.m. in Holy Family R.C. Church, Westerleigh. Burial will be in St. Peter’s Cemetery, West Brighton.
A Flannagan sketch — Nunzio’s Pizzeria tom
CONDOLENCES
Carmine Angioli, former Advance/SILive.com sports editor and current sports print curator: “One of the nicest people I’ve ever met. A thorough professional as a columnist and illustrator and a wonderful gentleman.”
Staten Island Golf Association President Matthew Zuntag: “Everyone in the Staten Island Golf Association loved Tom Flannagan. Tom was a great writer and artist, whose words and pictures were the history of Staten Island golf. He told stories, whether it was in print, sketches or talking over a beer.”
Former Staten Island Women’s Golf Association member and champion Maria Hogan: “My fondest remembrance of my friend Tom Flannagan was during the 1995 Women’s SIWGA Classic tournament. I was on the 18th hole. He was there with his photographer in tow. I got to the green and he said, ‘if you hole this you win.’ The photographer got on his stomach and took a photo. Thank God, I made the putt and thank goodness for Tom Flannagan’s friendship to women’s golf on Staten Island.”
Local golfer and Bob Lowney Junior Tournament director Skip Tellefsen: “I am saddened to hear about Tom’s passing. He was a great friend and golfing buddy. Tom was not only a very good artist and golf columnist, he was probably more responsible for growing junior golf on Staten Island than anyone else through his Hooks and Slices column in the Advance.”
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