Thomas A. Gaines passed away at his home here in Hampton on September 13 at the age of 99. Born in New York City, he and Carolyn (Kay) Levin Gaines, who also passed away at the age of 99 last February, were married for 75 years and raised three children, Gary, Elizabeth, and Andrea – our condolences to them and to their families.

Tom was commissioned as a Lt. (Jg) in the U. S. Navy during World War II and was stationed at Pearl Harbor. He earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin, an MBA from Harvard, and studied architecture at Columbia.  In 1951-52, Tom built Central America’s first housing development in Costa Rica, where he and Kay often hosted President Jose “Pepe” Figueres. His experiences in Costa Rica helped to inspire the first of his three books, “Profits with Progress, Latin America’s Bright Investment Future”. His other books are “The Campus as a Work of Art” and “15 Pinnacles, History’s Glorious Golden Ages”. Tom also designed and built houses in the “House of Gaines” development in Stamford, immortalizing his children with “Gary Road”, “Lolly Lane”, and “Andrea Lake”. The first builder in the NYC area to advertise “Equal Housing Opportunity”, he also designed and built houses in Greenwich.

Upon retirement Tom and Kay renovated the old farmhouse where they lived for almost 50 years. Tom served on many town boards, was a Justice of the Peace, and contributed to the Gazette and other newspapers. He founded the Connecticut chapter of the Nature Conservancy and was active throughout his life in the NAACP, the ADA, the ACLU, and other progressive and environmental causes. In response to his many “Brushes with the Famous” his children presented him with a book chronicling those encounters, which included Frank Lloyd Wright, Jackie Robinson, Max Baer, Benny Goodman, L. L. Bean, Maurice Sendak, Fernand Leger, Norman Thomas, Rodger Baldwin, Christopher Robin Milne, and Edwin Way Teale among many others. An accomplished pianist, composer, sailor and pilot, Tom inspired us all. Energetic to the end, we sought his opinion, his global view, his wisdom, his sense of humor, his quick smile. Tom will be missed.