Tom Denny lived most of his 89 years in Arizona and he was proud to say the only state he ever had a driver's license from was Arizona. He was born in 1935 in Flagstaff. His parents, Tom Denny and Helen Easton moved around Arizona for work. Tom lived in Baghdad, Clarksdale, Prescott, and settled in Winslow long enough to graduate from high school in 1953.

He left Arizona to attend college in St. Louis Missouri. He graduated from Washington University with a degree in architecture and married Arlene Meier, a fine arts major of Washington University and native of St. Louis.

After graduation, he attended the Navy's Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island in 1958. Upon completion, he was asked where he would like to be stationed. He answered "Seattle", so of course the Navy sent him to Guantánamo Bay Cuba. Tom spent four years in active duty in the Civil Engineer Corp. While at Guantanamo Bay, his first son was born in 1960. The story goes that Tom and Arlene were so convinced they were having a girl they never considered a boy's name. When a son arrived, they were so surprised, they simply fell back on the old standby and named him Thomas the third. Shortly afterward, the small family was transferred to Cape Hatteras, NC. Once Tom's active duty commitment was complete, he relocated his family back to the dry heat of Phoenix. He was commissioned into the Navy reserve, in which he served until 1984, retiring as a Captain.

Phoenix was to be the place Tom and Arlene called home for the rest of their lives. When they welcomed a second son, they had to come up with a boy's name, Christopher, in 1965. They joined the Beatitudes church in 1966 and were very active with the church during the following decades. Tom worked as an architect in the 1960's, 70's, and 80's. When he retired from being a professional architect, he started a second career as a teacher for the Arizona School of Business and Real Estate in the 1990's. There he taught classes on contractor licensing and Arizona history.

He also focused a great deal of his energy on his art. Tom and Arlene both enjoyed taking art classes, but Tom took his passion to the next level. Although he always said the Phoenix landfill was his best customer, Tom managed to sell a good number of his pieces at an art gallery in Scottsdale.

In 2015 Tom and Arlene moved onto the Beatitudes Campus and he became established in the community as a teacher for Life Long Learners, wrote articles for the Roadrunner, and served as president of the resident association. Though Arlene passed away in 2017 from kidney failure, Tom remained in their two bedroom apartment creating art, taking classes as well as teaching them. His work was displayed in the Bistro as part of the Arizona Artists Guild continuing art shows. He was well-known, respected, and a loved member of the Beatitudes family. He died on April 27, 2025 due to complications from his Parkinson's disease. Thomas is survived by Tom and Lori, Christopher and Cheryl, grandchildren Sarah, Helen, Lauren, Rachel, Annalise, Alexander, and his great grandson, Bradley.