Devoted and beloved father and grandfather Thomas “Tommy” Ross Bagley, a proud fifth-generation native Texan, 74, joined our Heavenly Father on Monday, October 25, 2021, with his children by his side. The youngest child of Thomas Daniel Bagley and Carlene Virginia Hartung Bagley of Martindale, Texas, Tommy was born on March 15, 1947, into the most loving and generous family. He inherited his father’s athleticism and attended San Marcos High School, where he proudly played on the 1965 Texas state high school basketball championship team as a varsity player. After graduating high school in 1966, he went on to attend The University of Texas and then Southwest Texas State University, where he majored in mathematics and graduated in 1970. Carrying on his family’s decades-long business experience, inspired by the family business of W.W. Bagley & Sons (which was founded during the Great Depression), Tommy had an enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit, leading him to open his own insurance agency, Thomas Bagley & Associates. Later in his career, he enjoyed diving into different industries with a common thread of applying his business insight, salesmanship, and incredible gift for fostering relationships with people. Tommy loved all people, making friends with everyone he encountered everywhere he went and brightening every room he entered with his infectious laugh. With his deep and booming voice, he spoke deliberately and always told the truth. His congenial spirit, deep Christian faith, and zest for life touched all who knew him. One of his greatest qualities was his ability to listen intently to everyone with whom he spoke. He was a master storyteller who would spend hours talking with family and friends, always making them feel like they were the most important person in the room.
Tommy’s top priorities were his incredible devotion to his Savior and to his family. After retiring from his nearly four-decade sales career, he devoted years of his life to being the sole, full-time caregiver of his beloved mother and larger-than-life father in their Martindale home until they passed away. He nurtured his family – simultaneously with a father’s strength and a maternal gentleness – and served as the most steadfast example of a father’s love for his children, Brian, Robin, Casey, and Matthew. A lifelong University of Texas fan who raised his own family in Austin, Tommy loved cheering on the Longhorns and was an avid sports fan until the very end of his life. With a passion for curating art and antiques, he traveled the country collecting oil paintings, sculptures, and other Southwestern art. Tommy spent his final years in Houston to be close to Brian and his wife Christen, their four young children, and Tommy’s youngest son, Matthew.
Tommy was preceded in death by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Daniel Bagley, and his son-in-law, Landon Marlow. He is survived by his sister Nancy Bagley Freels; his eldest son Brian and wife Christen, grandchildren Louise, Thomas, Caroline, and Charles; daughter Robin Bagley and husband Mike; daughter Casey Bagley Marlow and granddaughters Ainsleigh and Penelope; son Matthew; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Arrangements are being handled by Earthman Funeral Home, with the family gathering for an intimate private graveside service to celebrate Tommy’s joyful life. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Tommy’s name to advance neurodegenerative disease research at CurePSP.com.
