Tom Flournoy passed away in his sleep on the morning of October 27, 2024. He was 69 years old.
Born in Washington, D.C., he graduated from Woodbridge High School and Old Dominion University and began a successful career as a professional engineer specializing in transportation projects from planning to final design, according to a partner statement.
Projects he has worked on include roads, highways, bridges, transportation facilities, commuter rail, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and more. Many, if not most, lived in the Washington, D.C., area, including Arlington County, which became Tom’s home base in 1989. In his last role as Vice President of STV Inc., Tom was instrumental in launching and growing STV’s DC office, which continues to thrive today.
Tom was justifiably proud of his engineering career. During that time, he has served as a mentor to many young engineers, guiding them into successful careers of their own. He likes to tell stories about his trip to Saudi Arabia to teach a bridge engineering class, and whenever he travels he always points out interesting bridges, some of which he worked on. . But while he was proud of it, Tom’s career wasn’t the only focus in his life, friends said.
When Tom retired in 2015, he reflected: In bicycle touring, that means being independent. You are self-contained and independent of SAG (Support and Gear). That’s how I approach the next few years rewired and self-sufficient. This doesn’t mean excluding my great friends past, present, and future, but rather the independent spirit I learned a long time ago when I crossed Italy alone in 1991. ”
After retiring, Tom’s life focused on two passions: opera and cycling. Tom’s love of opera emerged late in life, but it was intense. Among his favorites were “La Boheme,” “Lakmé,” “Billy Budd,” and last but not least, Wagner’s “Ring Cycle.” He was a longtime subscriber to the Washington National Opera. Together with his partner Laurent, he also frequently attended performances at many of the great opera houses in the United States and Europe, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, London, Vienna, and Prague. His most recent opera trip was to Berlin to see the Deutsche Oper’s Ring Cycle. He attended the Wagner memorial performance at the Washington National Opera on October 26 with Laurent.
But first and foremost, Tom was an avid cyclist and especially loved long-distance cycling touring. A few years ago, he said: Age creeps up on us. It may sound like an old metaphor to say you don’t feel old, but I attribute that feeling to my love of cycling, especially long-distance cycling. ”
In fact, Tom loved to go on long, multi-week bike tours, either alone or with friends, especially in recent years with his best friend Mark. Tom’s first big bike tour was in 1988, when he first went to France with his then-girlfriend Doug Wolfer and two friends. They cycled from Paris through Chartres, the Loire Valley, Vichy, Lyon, and Dijon, then back to Paris. As Tom said, after that trip he was hooked. Since then he has returned to France several times and toured the Balkans from Vienna to Bucharest via Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal and most recently Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia. I did. Bulgaria.
In the United States, Tom travels through Montana and Wyoming (Cycle Montana extension), Rhode Island and Massachusetts (Providence to Provincetown), North Carolina and Virginia (Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway), and Tennessee to Louisiana. (Natchez Trace Parkway). Mississippi River Trail (to New Orleans), Vermont and New York (around Lake Champlain), the entire East Coast from Key West to Halifax (Canada), and Canada’s loop starting in Vermont, passing through Montreal and ending in Petit We took the Train du Nord Railroad Trail back to Ottawa, then circled Lake Ontario and crossed the Erie Canal. , down the Hudson River to New York, and from there through New Jersey and Delaware to his home in Arlington. Tom also rode many local rides in the DMV area. Some of his favorites took him to Rock Creek Park, Haines Point, and the surrounding suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. For local long rides, I loved going west to the Marshall area and enjoying the mountains.
He was also a data geek. Since 2012, when we first started logging rides with Ride with GPS, we’ve logged 1,533 rides over 55,439 miles. He also climbed 2,597,322 feet, including conquering two of Switzerland’s famous mountain passes, Simplon Pass and Grimsel Pass, on a fully loaded touring bike at the ripe age of 61.
Tom’s passion was cycling. He also wanted it to be his legacy. Therefore, in 2019, the Bon Source Cyclist Fund was established through the Arlington Community Foundation. Bonsauce was Tom’s cycling handle or nickname for many years. The goals and objectives of the Bonsource Cyclist Fund are to support and encourage access to cycling for all ages, primarily through infrastructure projects as well as tangible and intangible programs. These are infrastructure developments that contribute significantly to the cycling network and require funding in whole or in part. Support for more routine but necessary infrastructure improvements. Maintenance or renovation of existing bicycle infrastructure. Programs that encourage the enjoyment of cycling and promote cycling in general.
In the same spirit, over the last few years Tom has helped to instill a love of cycling in local youth. He volunteered as a mentor and ride leader for Phoenix Bikes, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate youth, promote bicycling, and build community. He also frequently served as a “driver” for Arlington’s Escuela Key Bisibs (Eastern), one of three routes that help elementary school students bike to school.
Tom was predeceased by his parents John and Margaret Flournoy, his brother Kenneth and his partner Doug Wolfer. He is survived by his partner Laurent Caltailard; My best friend Mark Nguyen. Also included are his immediate family, including his twin brother Doug, younger brother John, and sisters Mary Beth and Trudy, according to a statement from Carl Teilade.
Friends and family will celebrate Tom’s life on November 23, 2024 at 1:00 PM at the Ryan Park Community Center, 414 North Fillmore Street, Arlington, VA. If you’re wearing a cycling jersey, no matter how loud you are, you’ll feel good about it. Feel free to wear it in his honor. Some interested participants will ride the two miles from his mansion in Hyde Park, 4141 North Henderson Road, to the celebration, leaving at 12:45 p.m.
Donations in his memory may be made to the Bonsource Cyclists Fund. bit.ly/Bon Sauce.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
