Tom McDonnell

Tom McDonnell, 67, a banker from San Antonio, Texas, passed away on the morning of September 16, 2023. Tom is survived by his wife, Kayla Gaskins McDonnell; his son, Thomas Thad McDonnell, Jr. of Houston; and his daughter, Katherine McDonnell Jones and her husband Peter Logan Jones of Dallas; as well as two grandchildren, Smith Thomas Jones and Georgia Jeane Jones, also of Dallas. He is also survived by his sister, Nancy McDonnell Harlin; and his brother, Donald “Don” David McDonnell, both of Dallas. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thad and Kay Johnson McDonnell.

Tom was born on August 29, 1956, in Waco, Texas. He briefly lived in Cuero and West, but spent the majority of his childhood growing up in Levelland, Texas. After graduating from Levelland High School as a Fighting Lobo in May of 1974, Tom attended Texas Tech University. While at Tech, he joined the social fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the honors fraternity Phi Kappa Alpha, eventually becoming its Vice President. Tom was also a member of the Business Administration Council where he chaired various committees. He graduated in May of 1978 with a BBA in finance, having made the dean’s list every semester. He believed in the power of education, continuing this pursuit by earning a graduate degree from Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University in June of 1985.

Tom had adventure in his soul and loved spending time outdoors from an early age. He bought his first dirt bike in 5th grade, igniting his lifelong passion for motorcycling. He loved traveling the world, beginning with a two-month backpacking trip around Europe between his sophomore and junior years of college. He was also an avid adventurer, climbing a glacier in Estes Park, traveling to Switzerland to ski in the Alps, and even trying his hand at with wind surfing, practicing in the Lubbock Library Duck Pond. Tom started a long-running annual family tradition of traveling to South Padre Island for Thanksgiving, which the family continues to this day. In his later life his favorite place to vacation was Quepos in Costa Rica, while he spent the weekends on the Guadalupe River kayaking and entertaining his family at their river property in Kerrville. There he would spend most weekends lovingly maintaining the property, relaxing by the river, and watching the stars at night.

Tom inherited a strong work ethic from his father at a young age. He started working in the oil fields of West Texas as a teenager as a roustabout in the fields around Levelland. After Tom graduated from college, he started working in the family business of banking. He started in June of 1978 at First National Bank in Dallas as a Junior Credit Analyst. He was then sent to Abilene in September of 1979, eventually becoming a Vice President in the commercial lending program. In May of 1983, he moved to San Antonio to begin working for NBC Bank, during which time he and Kayla were blessed with the births of their two children. Tom continued his career at NBC until 1990, when he moved his family to Lubbock to take on the role of President of NationsBank of Texas. After three years in Lubbock, Tom moved the family back to San Antonio to take a job as the Senior Vice President, Commercial Bank Manager of Bank of America. Tom made his final career move to Frost Bank in January of 1999, where he began as the President of Commercial Lending for North Central San Antonio. In 2002, he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Treasury Management. He ended his career at Frost Bank in October of 2016.

Tom was a man of faith and attended Alamo Heights United Methodist Church of San Antonio. He served on the Finance Committee and Administrative Board and taught Sunday school both in the children’s ministry and in the Abiders class. Tom was a strong believer in giving back to his community. He was a Board Member and Member of the Finance Committee of the Petroleum Club of San Antonio, a member of the United Way foundation, a Board Member and Chairman of the 1989 Holiday River parade and Ball for the Paso del Rio Association, and a regional Board member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, among other commitments. Tom believed passionately in helping those around him and standing up for what he believed in, regardless of the situation.

Tom was married to his loving wife Kayla for 45 wonderful years. Tom and Kayla originally met in a scuba diving class while they both attended Texas Tech the summer before their senior year. Tom proposed after Kayla returned from an extended International Foreign Youth exchange program in Poland, deciding in her absence that he could not live without her.

In 2016, Tom was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a rare form of dementia that strikes particularly early. He bravely fought the disease for seven years until his passing.

Funeral services will be held at the Alamo Heights United Methodist Church in San Antonio at 2:00 p.m. on October 12, 2023. The family will receive visitors afterwards in the Christian Life Center of the church. In lieu of the traditional black dress the family asks that funeral attendees wear colorful attire.

The family requests any memorials in Tom’s name be made to the Alzheimer’s Association through his tribute page on their website.