Thomas Leo Reynolds, my Grandfather, was born on Jan. 2, 1920 in Armourdale, Kansas City, Kansas.  His mother died when he was two years old.  Grandpa was raised by his Irish Catholic Grandmother and assorted relatives and friends.  His Grandmother ran a first come first served home.  NO matter what – dinner was served at a set time.  If you weren’t there, for whatever reason, you didn’t eat.  It was the same for sleeping.  No one had their own room.  Actually no one had their own bed.  It too was first come first served.  Grandpa would talk about sleeping on the screened in porch in winter and waking up covered with snow and laughing about it.

Grandpa attended St. Thomas’s Catholic Grade School in Kansas City, Kansas and Bishop Ward High School.  He worked to pay his high school tuition by boxing in the Golden Gloves and doing maintenance work in the High School.  He tells me about getting up very early on winter mornings to fire up the old furnaces before school started.  Grandpa was captain of the football team for Ward High School in 1938-39.  His position was Center.  In those days each player had to provide, pay for, his own uniform. Grandpa had no money for a uniform or shoes, and there were no extra ones.  So when he was called in to play he had to borrow both uniform and shoes.  The players would gather around both my Grandfather and the player he was exchanging clothes with and they changed right there on the field.  His love for Football was only surpassed by his love for the game of Golf, a sport he participated in all of his life.

Grandpa graduated from Ward High School in 1939 and went to work for Columbia Steel Tank Co. in Kansas City, Kansas.  While working there he crushed his left foot.  He met and married my Grandmother on Aug. 23, 1941.  They both loved to dance and won several dance contests.  Grandpa’s work changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 1941.  Grandpa tried to join the Marines but was rejected because of his foot injury.  After much convincing, the United States Navy agreed to take him.  Grandpa served in the Pacific theatre from 1942 until the signing of the Japanese surrender in 1945.  My Grandfather was aboard the USS Missouri when the signing took place.  After the war grandpa spent over a year at Winter’s General Hospital in Topeka, Kansas struggling to recover from the emotional effects of the war.

Grandpa sold cars for a living and he and Grandma raised three children.  Being Catholic in those days meant you didn’t eat meat on Friday’s so the whole family would get together for a fish dinner and a good time.  After dinner and a few drinks, of course, everyone sing. My mother said she especially remembers “MY WILD IRISH ROSE” and “I’LL TAKE YOU HOME AGAIN KATHLEEN” because everyone would sing and cry.  The men in our family do not shake hands, they hug one another.  Grandpa was Catholic all of his life. A 4th degree Knights of Columbus, and was a member for over 50 years.

My Grandpa, Tommy Leo Reynolds, was proud to be an American.  He was a lifetime member of the VFW, a member of the Bella Vista Arkansas Post 9063, and a member of the Honor Guard.  My grandpa always flew the flag of the United States of America with pride. And treated it reverently.

My Grandpa, Tommy Leo Reynolds, was proud of his Irish heritage.  He bestowed the gift of gab, ‘Blarney’ if you will.  He never knew a stranger; his hospitality was genuine and everyone was truly welcome.  Like all Irishmen, he was known to tip a pint or two, sing, dance, and enjoy life.

TOMMY LEO'S IRISH PUB
Wishes to convey the same feeling of hospitality, welcome, and enjoyment of life.
This one’s for you Grandpa.