Thomas "Thom" Lee Fenner

Thom was a proud graduate of the University of Texas and later earned his law degree from the University of Houston. He spent his career as a tax attorney for the Internal Revenue Service—a fact he was famously reluctant to advertise.

In 2003, Thom married Susan Mary Fenner, his wife and partner in a life filled with family, adventure, and more than a few plane tickets. Thom loved to travel, and he and Susan saw the world together. In the year before his diagnosis, their adventures included New Zealand and Chile, while Thom also spent several weeks exploring Spain on his own. One of the greatest adventures of his life was hiking across England from coast to coast alongside his three brothers. He shared that love of seeing the world with his children, taking them on family vacations throughout their lives and instilling in them the same curiosity about places and people beyond home.

That curiosity extended to almost everything. Thom was an insatiable reader and lifelong learner who genuinely loved learning simply for the sake of knowing something new. Just weeks before his death, he bought himself a calculus textbook to read for fun, a choice that made perfect sense to Thom.

Thom was also an extraordinarily talented trumpet player. He played throughout his school years and was accomplished enough that his family remained convinced, perhaps with just a little bias, that he could have given some of the greats a run for their money. At home, however, his family was treated less often to performances than to the seemingly endless sound of him practicing his scales. Music was simply one more thing Thom approached with talent, discipline, and an endless desire to get better.

Thom liked to claim that he was a loner, but he loved striking up conversations, getting to know people and hearing their stories. He was wonderfully quirky, extraordinarily generous, and effortlessly funny. Often, he wasn’t even trying to make anyone laugh, which only made him funnier. He kept his family laughing throughout his life, even into his final days.

He was also never short on “dad advice.” Thom was the rational, calming presence in his family: the person who thought ahead, took care of things, knew what needed to be done and somehow made everyone else feel that things would be okay. He was a caregiver in every sense of the word. His generosity wasn’t simply something he practiced; it was fundamental to who he was. He noticed what people needed, and then he took care of it.

Of all the roles Thom held in his life, one of his greatest joys came near the end of it: becoming Grandpa to his grandson, Finn. Thom was completely and utterly smitten with his “beautiful boy.” He read Finn his very first book and quickly began building a collection of books at his own house so that Finn would always have a library waiting for him at Grandpa’s. He was already making plans for their future together, including his firm intention to get two-year-old Finn a kitten that would live at Grandpa’s house. The time they were given together was far too short, but the love Thom had for his grandson was enormous. Finn will grow up knowing exactly how deeply his grandpa adored him.

Following a devastating cancer diagnosis, Thom faced his illness with extraordinary determination. He fought fiercely for more time with his family because he wasn’t finished taking care of the people he loved. Even as his illness progressed, his concern remained with them. His family is immeasurably proud of the courage he showed and, even more, of the husband, father, grandfather, son, brother and friend he was long before cancer entered their lives.

Thom is survived by his wife, Susan Mary Fenner; his children, Elizabeth Ann Franco and her husband, Franklin, Kevin James Fenner and his partner, Amanda Brooke Pettyjohn, and Jamie Frances Fenner; and his beloved grandson, Finn.

He is also survived by his parents, Gary Lee and Kathryn Ann Fenner; his brothers, Stephen Glenn Fenner and his wife, Stephanie, Matthew Scott Fenner and his wife, Jennifer, and Richard Mark Fenner; as well as many beloved in-laws, nieces, nephews, extended family members and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents-in-law, Marilyn and James Pinner, lovingly known as Granny and Poppa, along with other cherished members of the Pinner family.

Thom leaves behind an enormous absence. His family will miss his advice, his generosity, his steadiness, his curiosity, his humor, his trumpet scales, his quirks, his plans for the next trip, and the comfort of simply knowing that he was there. He spent his life learning about the world, exploring it, laughing through it and, above all, taking care of the people he loved.

And wherever the next adventure has taken him, his family hopes he found a few very beloved cats waiting for him when he arrived.

Those wishing to honor Thom’s memory are invited to make a donation to Houston SPCA, an organization that reflects his lifelong love of animals.