Thomas P. Fendler of Rye reached the end of his accomplished life peacefully and at home on May 10, 2025, just months before his 97th birthday.
Born July 13, 1928, Tom was the third of six children born to Donald C. and Ruth (Ryan) Fendler. The family lived in Rye, where Tom attended Resurrection Grammar School. After his freshman year at Rye High School, he headed to New Hampton School, graduating as class president in 1946. A one-year Post-Graduate (PG) at Rye High was next, as Tom awaited college acceptance in the wake of the post-WWII surge of veterans seeking higher education. Tom attended Colgate University, followed by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.
Tom enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in February 1951, completing basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in New York and electronics school in Mississippi. He was later sent to the Sandia Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico and eventually to Nouasseur Air Force Base in Morocco, where he served for two years. Tom was a certified atomic weapon builder/technician, responsible for assembly, component testing, and delivery of atomic weapons to aircraft. He was honorably discharged from the 6th Air Force Depot Squadron in December 1954 with a rank of Staff Sergeant.
After the military, Tom joined CM Almy & Son, headquartered in Rye, for many years. As the third generation in that family-owned business, Tom and his brother Ryan took the helm as co-owners and solidified the company’s growth to become one of the country’s leading suppliers of liturgical goods. After retiring from the company in 1986, Tom launched Tomart, which specialized in recognition awards and gifts. The company counted Fortune 500 firms, professional organizations, yacht and golf clubs, and educational institutions among its clients. In 1999, he embraced retirement for good and segued into a volunteer position as the U.S. Championships Trophy Chair for U.S. Sailing.
Commitment to community was important to Tom. He was a member of the Rye Lions Club for years and served as a board member, then trustee, for the Rye YMCA, where he was instrumental in initiating the Rye derby race, which still carries on 37 years later. Tom also spearheaded one segment of a capital campaign. At Church of the Resurrection, Tom organized and trained the altar guild. Tom indulged his sports enthusiast side by serving on the Rye Recreation Commission. In every case, he rolled up his sleeves and worked as part of the team.
Athletics were an integral part of Tom’s life. As a student, he competed in several sports, earning a trunk-load of certificates and varsity letters. While stationed in Morocco, he was appointed Non-Commissioned Officer of Sports Activities to dispel off-shift boredom and encourage camaraderie among the men. Tom organized a base-wide league of teams, including baseball, football and volleyball. He played on the 6th AFDS team, which captured several titles.
When Tom returned to Rye after serving, he went on to play adult league softball and pick-up basketball at the YMCA well into his 50s. He also sailed at Westchester Country Club and American Yacht Club (AYC), excelling at one-design small-boat sailing. A self-taught mariner, his innate instincts and ingenuity took him far. Tom was a winning team member in both the 1973 and 1974 National Sunfish Team Racing Championships, and earned top rankings in frostbiting at American, where he received the club’s 1991 Stieglitz Award for “exemplifying the spirit of giving, both to the frostbiting program and his fellow sailors.” Over the course of a 37-year membership at AYC, he served on the membership committee and as a trustee. He also was a volunteer instructor for beginner women’s sailing and an advisor to its Centennial Planning Committee.
Freshwater fly fishing was another of Tom’s passions. As a boy, he enjoyed fishing in central Maine, where his family summered. As an adult, he spent time along the streams in upper Westchester and Putnam counties and fished Maine’s Pierce Pond and Sabasticook Lake with relatives and friends. Saltwater fishing on the Long Island Sound was also a favorite of Tom’s.
Tom Fendler was a man of quiet generosity to people and causes, an entrepreneur, an unassuming leader, an athlete, and a loyal friend. He is survived by Linda Wells of Rye, his decades-long life partner; his children, Paul Fendler (Eileen) of Hyannis, Mass., Keelin Miller (Neal) of West Barnstable, Mass., and Mark Fendler of Somerville, Mass.; his sister, Kate Meyers of Tulsa, Okla.; and an extended family of nieces, nephews and their families.
