Dr. Thomas G. Flynn, 96, of New Canaan, Connecticut passed away peacefully on February 21st, 2026, with family by his side. He was born December 5th, 1929, in Boston, Massachusetts to the late William and Evelyn Flynn.
Dr. Thomas Flynn
Tom was the second of six children. His father’s career took the family from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island and then to Westfield and North Andover, Massachusetts. Tom’s formative years were in Westfield, where he enjoyed playing sports – especially baseball – and excelled in school. His father carried a newspaper clipping in his wallet describing the day Tom both pitched a no-hitter and was named class valedictorian. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School in Westfield in 1947 and was a 1951 cum laude graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.
Tom served in the United States Navy as a midshipman from 1948 to 1952 while in Holy Cross’ ROTC Program, and as an officer from 1952 to 1955. His service took him to ports around the world on a battleship, a heavy cruiser, and a destroyer escort.
After the Navy, Tom moved to Washington DC to attend medical school at Georgetown University. In the summer of 1957, he met the love of his life Elizabeth (Betty) Belson. They were married a year later. In the summer of 1959, Tom graduated from Georgetown, having served as President of the Student Medical Association and been elected a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society.
His medical training included an internship at the Mary Imogene Basset Hospital in Cooperstown, New York and a pediatric residency and fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1963 the family – now with four young sons – moved to New Canaan where Tom began his 31-year pediatric practice with the New Canaan Medical Group.
Medicine was Tom’s vocation and he loved his work. He considered himself fortunate beyond measure to care for the many families in his practice and to work alongside great medical professionals. During his practice and retirement, he served as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine and trained residents at Yale University Hospital.
In the early 1970’s, to address serious injuries in sports, especially heat-related injuries, he organized symposiums to teach coaches and trainers about the new prevention and treatment theories still practiced today. Physicians in other states followed his model, and he was invited to serve on the American Academy of Pediatrics Sports Medicine Counsel.
Tom and Betty’s deep Catholic faith guided their lives. All nine of their children attended St. Aloysius School and went on to Catholic high school and colleges. Tom served for many years as a Eucharistic Minister and provided pastoral care to several local hospitals and senior care centers. He also chaired the committee for the Diocese of Bridgeport’s annual White Mass for medical professionals. In 1992, Tom and Betty joined the Knights of Malta. They acted as co-Hospitallers, coordinating the Knights’ many charitable projects in Connecticut.
Tom had a strong desire to help the less fortunate in other parts of the world and the opportunity came when he retired from practice in 1994. He worked with the Catholic Medical Mission Board and Americares, traveling to Armenia, Honduras and Cuba. In 1995, Tom and Betty started volunteering at Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti. From 1996 to 2012 he was a member of the board of the CRUDEM Foundation (now “Haiti Health Promise”) that operates the hospital and was its President from 2003 to 2006. After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the hospital quickly expanded from 70 to 400 beds and five operating rooms. At 80 years of age, Tom returned to the hospital to coordinate NGO and medical volunteers to provide the best care possible to the 1,000 earthquake victims transported from Port Au Prince.
Among many honors, Tom received the inaugural Donald Cameron Award for Human Kindness (1980), Moffly Media’s Light a Fire Award (2011), and the New Canaan Community Foundation’s Spirit of New Canaan Award (2015). In accepting the Light of Fire Award, Dr. Flynn shared that: “When I left Johns Hopkins for New Canaan, … I vowed to one day serve in a Third World country as payback for the many blessings I have received.” He kept that vow, in gratitude to God, for all he received before and after he made it.
He enjoyed gardening, golf, reading, and cheering for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He treasured his friendships throughout the years, including those made in the Senior Men’s Club and his poker group, while his greatest joy and treasure was his family.
Tom is survived by his children Tom Jr. (Lisa) of Katonah, NY; Bill (Marnie) of New Canaan; Jim (Young) of Redding; Rob of Middletown; Brian of Brookfield; Kathleen of McLean, VA; David (Yvette) of Wilton; Greg (Pam) of Trumbull; and Andrew (Ryoko) of Tokyo, Japan; along with 22 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and his brother, the Honorable Terence Flynn of Little Silver, NJ. He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years Betty, his parents, four siblings, Barbara Kallaugher, Dr. William Flynn, Eleanor Reilly and Robert Flynn, and by his daughter-in-law, Karen Hobert Flynn (Rob).
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, 21 Cherry Street, New Canaan on Friday, March 6th at 11:00 am. Visiting hours will be held at Hoyt Funeral Home, 199 Main Street, New Canaan, on Thursday, March 5, from 4–7 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Holy Name Foundation (Haiti Health Promise) https://crudem.org/you-can-help/give/ or to the charity of your choice.
The Family is being compassionately cared for by the staff at Hoyt Funeral Home, 199 Main Street, New Canaan CT 06840
For online condolences and directions, please visit www.hoytfuneralhome.com
The sharpest 96 year old you’re ever gonna meet, and one of the kindest and most selfless men in town. Rest in peace, Doc.
Dr. Flynn was my pediatrician. I remember him as soft-spoken and kind with a twinkle in his eye, the exact right disposition for that job. He was always humming or singing songs I didn’t know. Always felt safe and calm when I saw the b&w Kit-Cat Klocks…
A wonderful, caring doctor to our three children. We all loved him!
I believe we may well have been Tom’s first patients, with three small children at that time.
But, it was Tom and Betty who hosted, in their living room, in 1973, what ultimately became the St. Aloysius Right to Life. May he rest in the Kingdom of Heaven for all Eternity!
Dr. Flynn was my pediatrician also. He was kind, gentle, and consistently caring. In addition to being a good doctor and good with children, he had a wonderful way of caring for mothers, who relied on his care for their kids and rested in his reassurance. God bless Dr. Flynn.
I did not know of all the many blessings Dr Flynn had,one thing I did know he took very loving gentle care of a single mothers child here in New Canaan.
I was fortunate to have had Dr. Flynn as my pediatrician, from ages 7 to….way too old to be seen by a pediatrician…but my Mom loved visits with Dr. Flynn & I couldn’t imagine receiving care from anyone else. No matter how sick, injured or uncomfortable, I always looked forward to seeing Dr. Flynn & getting a healthy dose of his warmth, charm & care. I’d like to say he was one-of-a-kind, but his son (and my kids’ pediatrician since birth), Dr. William Flynn, is just like his dad—upbeat, twinkle-eyed & compassionate (they even sing & whistle alike in the office). My heartfelt condolences to the entire Flynn family. There is a special place in heaven for Dr. Flynn.
(Mike Dinan, you were so spot-on about the twinkle in Dr. Flynn’s eyes that I had to borrow it.)
When you hear his name a soft melody fills the room and tons of sage advice forms your parenting paths. What a loving, giving man… we and the world is blessed he walked among us. Sing in Heaven, Tom. What a glorious chorus you and the angels will form.
I’m so sorry to hear of Dr. Flynn’s passing, but glad this world had him for 96 years. What a kind soul. He was the perfect pediatrician (that adorable little bear on his stethoscope!). He was warm, funny and an incredible diagnostician (our son had a skin condition that confounded doctors from Greenwich to New Haven; Dr. Flynn figured it out). We were lucky to have him for our children (and us) and his commitment to charitable work around the globe is astounding. I send heartfelt condolences to his family.
Our deepest condolences to all of the Flynns. He was both a friend of the family and a compassionate presence for both routine and extraordinary situations. And just when you think your story with him is original, you hear the stories of others, and just marvel. And he could be found everywhere: the doctor’s office, Sunday Mass, school events, the hospital, always quietly serving his town & parish community from every corner. The phrase is overused, however it’s entirely fitting here: he was a great man.
There is surely a joyful (and lengthy) receiving line in heaven. May God grant him well-deserved eternal rest.
~The Franco Family
Dr. Tomas Flynn was the pediatrician for both of my children,
he was always “right on” with his pediatric care, always so caring, calm and would send us on way with that wonderful smile!
One of the great services that Dr. Flynn provided to the town was on the sports fields of New Canaan. There was almost always a Flynn child on one of the sports teams in New Canaan. And it seemed like Dr. Flynn attended virtually every sporting event as a spectator. I can recall at least a half dozen times that he came out of the stands to attend to an injured player during a sporting event. He watched over generations of young New Canaanites.
Thank you for being a wonderful doctor, Dr. Flynn. I was under your care until I moved on to a gp – I will always remember your kindness and your caring nature. Also your Kit Kat clock. Rest in peace and know how loved and admired you are.
Dr. Flynn was a wonderful man. He took care of my siblings and I for many years. Unfortnately he would have to chase me out to the parking lot to give me a shot! We would laugh about it when I got older. He would also make house calls when I was sick on Christmas Eve one year. Thank you Dr. Flynn for all your years of taking care of my family and so many others. We are so gratedful to have had you in our lives. May you Rest In Eternal Peace.
The Pinder Family
Dr. Flynn was my pediatrician until I left for college and was also my oldest daughter’s pediatrician. He thanked me for “coming back” but also said when his former patients were now bringing their own children to him, it might be “time.” A year later when my son was born he had retired and Dr. Bill Flynn had taken over his practice. When he told me he was retiring I was admittedly sad but he said if we do our jobs right the next generation will always be better. He said “just like you are a better mother than your mother, my son is a better doctor than I am.” And since all 4 of my kids had Dr. Flynn as their pediatrician, I can confirm that he was (and is) every bit as wonderful as his dad.
I can vividly remember Dr. Flynn coming to our house several times after dark when I had strep throat as a child and when my accident-prone brother had whatever his latest injury was. He carried his black doctor’s bag and was truly the quintessential small-town family doctor. He loved to hum and joke and he seemed to have a smile that never left his face and was so reassuring to sick kids. Another memory I have is when he told my husband that our daughter looked “just like him,” which definitely was not true. Later he told me he always told the dads that because there was never a question of who the mom was but he wanted to reassure the dads! He was so funny and mischievous!!
What a wonderful man who lived to serve with love. Family and faith was everything to him. Condolences to all the Flynns. He is reunited with his beloved Betty. God Bless.