Thomas Lee Kirkpatrick of Sahuarita, Arizona passed away on October 9, 2025 at the age of 79.  He was born on August 12, 1946 in Tucson, Arizona.  Though his life began and ended in the Tucson area, the journey of his life took him far and wide.

After being raised in Safford and Tempe, Arizona, Tom joined the Navy right out of high school and honorably served in Vietnam.  After returning stateside, he graduated from Arizona State University and became an English teacher, a career that led to him teaching in Hermosillo, Mexico and later becoming a school administrator.  He met his wife, Peggy, in Mallorca, Spain while studying for a Master's in Education for International and Overseas Administration.  They married in 1990 on the island of Martha's Vineyard, and then went on to work in international schools in Kigali, Rwanda and Maracaibo, Venezuela before settling in Boston, Massachusetts in 1996. Before retiring, Tom pursued a second career as a Spanish-language medical interpreter in the Boston area.

Tom's hobbies and interests helped define who he was.  He was a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction, and a talented writer of fiction, op-eds, and songs.  Tom loved music of many genres and played the guitar at one point playing bass guitar in bands in a number of venues in Arizona and Colorado.  He was a pool lap swimmer from an early age who learned to love ocean swimming and vacationing in tropical locations. A great sports fan, he loved living in Boston when the curse was reversed for the Red Sox and the Patriots ruled, but his main interest remained with college football and the Sun Devils.

He is survived by his wife Peggy; sisters Kathy Bell and her husband Raymond, Sonja Nelson, and Laina Savage and her husband Jim; his nieces Kim Miller, Erin Maldoff, and Colleen Bell; his nephews Kevin Kirkpatrick, Kelly Kirkpatrick, and Ryan Bell; his sister-in-law Patty Pruden-Lennox; and brothers-in-law Bill Pruden and Robert Pruden along with all of their extended families.

A service will take place at the Veterans' Memorial Cemetery at Marana, Arizona on December 11th at 12 noon.   In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society (donate.cancer.org) or PBS (foundation.pbs.org/ways-to-give/memorial-honor-gifts/).