Raised on a Missouri farm, Tom managed to attend a British Prep School before commencing a college career that would culminate in a Doctorate Degree in Marine Ecology.  He also served as an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Navy, and as a scoutmaster, SCUBA instructor, Wilderness Survival Instructor, and Firearms Instructor.  He has worked as an ecologist in both government and private practice, as well as a freelance nature photographer and computer programmer.

Retired from his private ecological practice, Tom has taken to writing: Novels, Poetry, Essays.

Favorite quote.  “Failure is the whetstone of success.” ~ T. Leith Rettie, 1884.