Thomas M. Dignam

Thomas “Tom” Dignam, a lifelong Englewood resident, businessman, community leader, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and devoted friend to the community he loved, passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 18, 2026, at the age of 84.

For Tom, Englewood was far more than the place he lived. It was home, and for nearly eight decades, his life became deeply woven into the history and growth of the community.

Tom was born in 1941 in Providence, Rhode Island, to George Dignam and his wife and Georgie (Allen) Dignam. The Dignam family began vacationing in Indian Rocks Beach in 1939 and moved permanently to the Englewood area in 1948. Tom grew up here during a time when the town looked very different from the Englewood known today.

He attended local schools before graduating from Venice High School in 1960, and later Auburn University in 1966 — War Eagle! It was at Auburn that Tom met his future wife, Laverne “Annette” Pope. The two married in 1962, welcomed their son, David, in 1963, and returned to Englewood, where Tom attended and passed insurance school and they began building a life centered on family, faith, education, community service, and giving back. Their daughter, Leslie, followed in 1970.

As a young man, Tom worked at Ainger’s Market for L.A. Ainger and later at Angler’s Resort, where he rented boats, sold shrimp, and pumped gas. In 1962, he joined his father, George Dignam, in the family business. The business had begun in 1952 as Key Realty on Manasota Key, and in 1960 George expanded into insurance and established what became Key Agency, Inc. Tom went on to become a Realtor and, in 1967, a real estate broker. As Key Agency continued to grow, Tom and George built the agency’s longtime office at the junction of McCall and Beach Roads, opening its doors there in September 1968. Years later, in 2003, Tom also became a yacht broker at Stump Pass Marina.

Tom spent decades helping shape Key Agency into one of Englewood’s longstanding family businesses, carrying forward a philosophy that business and community should go hand in hand. Over the generations, Key Agency became more than an insurance agency; it became one of the ways the Dignam family supported local schools, scholarships, youth programs, nonprofits, civic organizations, and families throughout the Englewood area. Today, more than seven decades after its beginnings, the business remains family owned and operated.

Service to Englewood was already deeply rooted in the Dignam family when Tom was growing up. His father, George, played an active role in the early development of the community, including efforts involving the Intracoastal Waterway, the Englewood Lions Club, the Englewood Board of Realtors, the Englewood Water District, the Chamber of Commerce, and the development of Lemon Bay High School. George helped lay much of the groundwork for the town Tom would spend the rest of his life serving, and Tom carried that example forward in his own ways.

Tom’s service to the Englewood area reached far beyond his professional life.

Tom helped establish the Englewood Elks Lodge, held the distinction of being Founding Member No. 1, and served as its first Exalted Ruler. He was also a life member of the lodge.

His connection to Englewood youth sports stretched back even further. As a young man, Tom played on the Englewood Lions Little League team and later spent years serving as Chief Umpire during a time when members of the Englewood Elks volunteered their time to umpire local Little League games.

Tom was also a longtime friend of Bill W. and was incredibly proud of his sobriety, which began in 1985. Throughout the years, he sponsored and supported many others on their own journeys of recovery. He served as the first elected president of Lemon Bay Sunrise Rotary, later becoming an honorary member and receiving multiple Paul Harris Fellow honors. He also served as Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 26 while David was a member.

Lemon Bay High School held a special place in Tom’s heart. He helped lead the building of the school’s first football concession stand and press box and later helped with the addition of its scoreboard. But his support of Lemon Bay extended far beyond athletics. For decades, Tom supported students, teams, programs, activities, and projects throughout the school — from athletics and band to theater and other student organizations — always willing to help wherever there was a need.

Education and helping local students continue their futures were especially important to Tom and the Dignam family. Over the years, more than $150,000 in scholarships has been awarded to students from the Englewood area through the George F. Dignam Memorial Scholarship and the Tom and Annette Dignam Family Trust Scholarship, administered through the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. These scholarships became another way the family could invest directly in generations of local students and the community they loved.

In recognition of his decades of support and service to Lemon Bay, Tom received the Lemon Bay Athletics Hall of Fame Community Service Award in 2023.

Tom also helped raise funds and support projects throughout the community, including the Englewood Art Center, St. Raphael’s Catholic Church, Englewood United Methodist Church, the YMCA, the Hermitage Artist Retreat, SKY Academy, and many other organizations. His involvement rarely meant simply writing a check. Tom had a habit of showing up, finding out what needed to be done, and helping make it happen.

That commitment continued throughout his life. Tom worked with Esther Horton and the leaders of the Lemon Bay Historical Society to help relocate the historic Green Street Church from Green Street to its present location on Indiana Avenue, helping preserve an important piece of Englewood’s history for future generations.

His impact can still be seen throughout the community. The Dignam name is connected to organizations, scholarships, classrooms, facilities, and gathering places throughout Englewood. Among them are the rehabilitation facility at the Englewood YMCA, spaces connected to education and the arts, and, most recently, the performance stage at Pioneer Plaza on West Dearborn Street.

Tom also played an important role in the history of the Hermitage Artist Retreat on Manasota Key. During the organization’s early years, when its historic buildings were being restored and transformed into a place for artists, Tom became one of its steadfast supporters. He contributed materials, labor, furnishings, resources, and, perhaps most importantly, his willingness to simply show up whenever help was needed. In recognition of that commitment, the Hermitage named the Tom Dignam Beach Cottage in his honor.

Another cause especially close to Tom’s heart was Kids’ Needs of Greater Englewood. When the organization was being formed to help local children and families struggling during difficult economic times, Tom was among those who helped make it possible. He remained connected to the organization and its mission of providing clothing, shoes, school supplies, hygiene items, scholarships, and other assistance to children throughout the greater Englewood area.

Beside Tom through so much of this life of service was Annette.

Annette, who passed away in 2020, was a beloved educator who taught generations of Englewood children, including at Lemon Bay when it was still an elementary school. At one point, she even had the unique experience of being her own son David’s kindergarten teacher.

Her commitment to the community extended well beyond the classroom. Annette founded the Englewood United Methodist Church Preschool now called Foundations Early Childhood Education Center, served for many years as vice president of the St. Raphael’s Church Council, was the second president of the Englewood Elks Does women’s group, and served on the Englewood Community Hospital women’s board. She also served on the foundation board of Manatee Community College, later renamed State College of Florida, where a classroom bears her name.

She supported the Hermitage Artist Retreat and numerous other local causes and devoted countless hours to children, education, faith, family, and community.

Together, Tom and Annette raised David and Leslie in the same community they loved so deeply. The example they set did not end with them. Their children and grandchildren continued the family tradition of service in Englewood and throughout the region.

David and his children remain involved in the family business and have followed the family’s tradition of civic service through organizations including the YMCA, Little League, Rotary, Scouting, the Charlotte County School Board, the Airport Authority, and the Denise Amber Lee Foundation.

Leslie and her daughter have continued the family’s commitment to the arts and cultural life of the community through years of leadership with the Hermitage Artist Retreat and the Englewood Art Center, helping carry forward organizations that meant so much to Tom and Annette.

Today, the Dignam family’s connection to Englewood spans five generations — a continuation of the family that first made this community home nearly eight decades ago.

Tom and Annette’s contributions were recognized many times over the years, but recognition was never the reason they served.

In 2026, the Dignam family received the Family Legacy Award presented by the Secret Society of Smoked Mullets, an honor recognizing generations of service to Englewood. Reflecting on the recognition just months before his passing, Tom said:

“We don’t see it as recognition of one person, but of generations of Dignams who have quietly dedicated their time, talents, and resources to making Englewood a better place.”

Those words may be the best description of the legacy Tom leaves behind.

His life was not defined by any one organization, award, business, building, or accomplishment. It was defined by decades of showing up. By helping when help was needed. By believing in his hometown. By supporting children and families. By preserving its history while helping build its future. And by teaching the generations who followed him that being part of a community also means taking responsibility for caring for it.

Tom and Annette believed life was meant to be enjoyed — with family close, somewhere to go, and plenty of memories made along the way.

Outside of work and community service, they built a life together full of travel, family traditions, and places they loved returning to year after year. Their two family properties — one in Englewood and one in Punta Gorda/Arcadia — became gathering places filled with memories, family time, and the simple moments that often meant the most.

They loved to travel, both throughout the United States and abroad. Over the years, they enjoyed river cruises, traditional cruises, and trips that took them to destinations around the world. They spent many happy days on their boat, The Agent, often traveling to Useppa Island and enjoying time on the water. For many years, they also traveled the country in their RV, sometimes camping for months at a time. Disney World was another favorite, along with the countless trips, weekends away, and adventures they shared with family and friends.

Tom and Annette were also devoted Auburn fans, and their love of sports went far beyond their own favorite team. They made a point of showing up for their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, attending countless games, performances, and sporting events over the years. Being there in the stands or in the crowd, cheering on their family, was simply part of who they were.

More than the destinations themselves, Tom and Annette loved the experience of going somewhere together — making new friends, seeing new places, spending time with the people they loved, and creating memories along the way.

Above all else, Tom’s greatest joy and greatest legacy was his family.

Tom is survived by his son, David Dignam, and his wife of 39 years, Laurie; his daughter, Leslie Dignam; and Eric Fogo and his wife of 28 years, Bobbi, whom Tom and Annette welcomed into their family and came to love as a son.

His grandchildren include Ashley Dignam; Brandon Dignam and his wife of 13 years, Amanda; Taylor Baggott and her husband, Nick; and Austin Fogo and his wife, Mikaylah.

His great-grandchildren include Ames and Axton Hall; Garrett, Berkley, Lawson, and Tatum Dignam; and Lacie and Jeb Baggott, with Jeb expected in January 2027.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, George and Georgie Dignam, and by his beloved wife, Annette, who passed away in 2020.

Because Annette’s passing came during the COVID-19 pandemic, the family never had the opportunity to gather and celebrate her life in the way they had hoped. With Tom’s passing, it feels only fitting that they will now be honored together — as husband and wife, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and two people whose lives, family, service, and love for Englewood were intertwined for so many years.

A service celebrating the lives and lasting legacy of Tom and Annette Dignam will be held Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Englewood United Methodist Church, 700 E. Dearborn Street, Englewood, FL 34223. A celebration of life will follow at Englewood Elks Lodge #2378, 401 N. Indiana Avenue, Englewood, FL 34223. In honor of Tom and Annette, guests are encouraged to wear orange and/or blue or Auburn attire.

Friends, neighbors, former students, colleagues, community members, and all whose lives were touched by Tom and Annette are invited to join the Dignam family in remembering and celebrating two lives that helped shape generations of Englewood.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to Kids’ Needs of Greater Englewood, an organization that reflects so much of what Tom and Annette believed in — neighbors helping neighbors, caring for local children, and strengthening the community they called home.

Tom and Annette’s legacy is measured in far more than the places that bear their names or the organizations they helped build.

It lives in the generations of children they encouraged, the families they supported, the community they helped shape, and the values of service, generosity, and love of Englewood that continue through their family today.

Their lives were rooted in Englewood.

Their hearts were devoted to its people.

Their legacy will remain here for generations to come.