On June 8, 2024, Thomas Sonn passed away. Born in 1933, he had almost made it to his 91st on June 24th.

Tom was truly one of the good ones. He was proud of being a doctor but that accomplishment is not how he should or would want to be remembered. Not his extensive education, numerous degrees, years of professional training and decades of teaching future psychiatrists nor his many awards, not even his enormous founding contribution to the Dallas Psychoanalytic Center, really speak to who he was.

Tom was kind and cared. It is as simple and as monumental as that.

He cared deeply for his family but, even more so, for his patients. He never really wanted to go to medical school but, it was the only way to become a analyst, at that time. He knew that was what he wanted to do. How he wanted to treat patients. He never regretted his becoming a physician feeling it was and is an important part of understanding the responsibility one undertook in this profession.

His patients, --helping them find a more comfortable way to navigate life, were his world. In the consultation room and classroom, he was without equal. The scores of patients and students he helped, and through them the people with whom they came in contact, can really not be overestimated. They know who they are and that is sufficient.

Even as we mourn the loss of this stellar individual, we also celebrate his life. A life well lived. His being here did, indeed, make the world a better place.

Should you wish to do something to honor Tom's life, just go out and be kind to someone. He would have liked that.

There will be a requiem Mass at St Rita's Catholic Church some time in the future.

Rest in peace, Tom. You are missed.