Lt. Col. Thomas C. Flournoy

[ironputts]

Aug. 2, 2018

Lt. Col. Thomas C. Flournoy
Wing Headquarters Squadron
Louisiana Wing

Shreveport, LA - Dr. Thomas Cole Flournoy died October 19, 2017, from cardiovascular complications. He will be remembered on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at Grace Community United Methodist Church, 9400 Ellerbe Road in Shreveport. After visitation in the Gathering Area at 12:30 p.m., a memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. in The Warehouse.

Loving husband, father, and grandfather, Cole was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 17, 1945. His mother, Minnie Cole Flournoy, and his father, John Wise Flournoy, Jr., preceded him in death. Grieving his loss are son, Grady; daughter Millie Hamilton (Jeffrey); grandson, Gray Hamilton; and Cornell, his devoted wife of 28 years.

Cole's family were Caddo Parish pioneers, and Flournoy Jewelers was a Shreveport landmark for decades. He graduated from The Webb School, Bell Buckle, TN, in 1963, and attended Hampden-Sydney College. Cole proudly served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Bon Homme Richard during the Vietnam War. Subsequently, he graduated from Centenary College with a degree in business administration. After a career in private business, Cole obtained a master's degree in counseling from Louisiana Tech and an Ed.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Sarasota.

For over 25 years, Cole devoted his talent and energies to the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office, where he created and developed the Power Group counseling program at Caddo Correctional Center. Sheriff Don Hathaway brought him aboard, and Cole continued public service under the direction of Sheriff Prator. At the time of his death, Cole was Mental Health Director at the facility, work that he found so fulfilling and challenging that he planned never to retire. He always appreciated his dedicated staff, which routinely addressed the many details in the Mental Health section.

An accomplished pilot, Cole had owned a series of small prop planes over the years and loved the details of planning cross country trips and instrument navigation. More than just a hobby, flying was his happy obsession. Last year, he flew to the 48 contiguous United States, as well as to Alaska and around the Hawaiian Islands. An instrument instructor, Cole valued friendships with his flying buddies in the Civil Air Patrol and Experimental Aircraft Association.

Yet, for as much as he enjoyed flying and traveling with his family, Cole's preferred destination was home. Over the years, he had the pleasure of teaching his children and grandson to water ski on Cross Lake, welcoming their friends with open arms. He and Cornell delighted in mornings on the lake, and Cole never missed an opportunity to ski.

Cole lived with intensity, felt deeply, and he was generous with his expressions of appreciation and love for those dear to him.