Thomas “Tom” Frazer Draper, Jr, MD, died peacefully at his home in Newtown, Connecticut, on January 9, 2023, at the age of 96. He was the devoted husband of Patricia (Gafney), who predeceased him in 2021, for almost 69 years, and the beloved father of Kathleen Mount (Steven) of Westerville, Ohio; Mary Maloney (James) of Danbury; Joan Draper (Gary Townsend) of Brookfield; Martha Odell (Don) of Darien; Donna Draper (Alan Chapin) of Newtown; Rosemary Gallant (Jonathan) of London, England; and Joseph Draper (Mieko) of Fairfield. An infant son, Thomas Frazer Draper III, predeceased him.

Tom was born in Queens Village, New York, on October 15, 1926, to Ann Griffin and Thomas Frazer Draper. He graduated in 1944 from Xavier High School in New York City and soon after enlisted in the United States Navy, proudly serving his country during World War II as First Class Seaman. He was honorably discharged in August 1946 and subsequently received a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University in 1949, his MD degree from Queens University, Kingston, Ontario in 1955, and a master’s in public health from Yale University in 1969. He completed his pediatric residency at Johns Hopkins University/Baltimore City Hospital and served as chief pediatric resident at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, N.Y. In 1976, he completed an Infectious Diseases Fellowship.

Tom loved and was dedicated to his community. He provided medical care, wisdom, and vision, in his many professional roles. He was a compassionate pediatrician, who cared for and was beloved by several generations of families during the 40 years he practiced medicine in Newtown and Danbury.

Dr Draper was a member of the medical staff at Danbury Hospital for over 60 years, serving as Chief of Pediatric Ambulatory Care (1971 to 1991), Chairman of the Pediatric Department (1980 to 1982), and President of the Medical Staff (1991 to 1994). In addition to his clinical expertise and his dedication to his pediatric patients, Tom was also passionate about public health and serving his community. He was the Director of Community Medicine at Danbury Hospital (1991 to 2005) and the Director of Health for Newtown (1965 to 1998), continuing as medical advisor until his death. He also served as the school physician in Newtown for many years. In that role he became a regular presence on the sidelines at Newtown High School football games, ready to care for any injury. He served the City of Danbury Department of Health for over 45 years as Director of Health (1971 to 1974), Director of Communicable Disease Services (1975 to 2008), and Medical Advisor (2008 to 2017). He was a real public health champion and embraced the meaning of public health — to ensure the conditions in which to be healthy. He cared deeply for the environment, knowing its health is integral to community health. He was skilled in convening and listening to bring parties together. A beautiful representation of his passion is his long-standing desire and push for sidewalks that would get people walking and connect residents with each other. Continuing his commitment to community health, in 2008 he became the Medical Advisor to the Connecticut Institute for Communities (CIFC), where he helped establish the community health center now known as CIFC Health and went on to serve as Medical Director for several years.

Tom is survived by his sister, Barbara Buxton of Purcellville, Virginia, and by his brother, Robert Draper of Nissequogue, New York. He was predeceased by his sisters, Patricia Randolph, Jacqueline Prout, and infant Joan; and by his brothers, David, Raymond, Michael, and Denis Draper.

His greatest joy was his family, and he took pride in watching his children and grandchildren grow into successful adults and sharing his life experiences with them. He loved being a grandfather, spending time with his grandchildren, hearing their latest news, and celebrating their milestones. He was the adored Poppa/Papa to Rachel Hofstetter, Elizabeth Betras, Katherine and Thomas Mount; Adele, Anna, and Ellen Maloney; Monica Kraft and Victoria Townsend; Jimmy and Annie Odell; Mary Kate Fuentes and Jacqueline, Michael, and Christopher George; Melissa and Martha Gallant; and Suzuran, Rikto, May, and Kent Draper. He was predeceased by his granddaughters, Hannah George and Rebecca Draper Townsend. He was also Big Poppa or Poppa Tom to nine great-grandchildren, Alex, Teagan, Theo, Nora, Abigail, James, Max, Vivian, and Grant, and was looking forward to the arrival of Baby Sarah in April.

He is survived by numerous American and Canadian cousins, nieces, nephews, and extended family who loved him deeply, and lifelong friends whom he cherished. His compassion, his willingness to help everyone, his enthusiasm for knowing what was going on in their lives, and his ability to keep in touch with everyone was unmatched. His love of family extended to an appreciation of family history and a lifelong passion for researching and sharing the story of his family. A large part of that story was his Canadian heritage. He loved to reminisce about the teenage summers spent working on the family dairy farms in Ontario, and throughout his life he made at least yearly trips back to them. He couldn’t wait to get into the barns or ride out into the fields to see how things were doing. His Canadian family was so precious to him, and such an important part of who he was.

Tom grew up in a large and close-knit family. In 1952, he married Patricia Marie Gafney, the love of his life, and in 1958 they moved to Newtown, where Tom established his pediatric practice. Their lives were grounded in their Catholic faith and their devotion to each other, which provided them with the strength to meet any loss or challenge. They shared a love of travel, reading, New York City, golf, and Christmas — everything except a love of skiing. Tom bravely taught his seven children to ski on his own. Together they created a home for their growing family filled with music, laughter, and love. He made every family gathering special, whether Christmas Eves in Newtown, or reunions in Canada, Ohio, or Cape May, always ending with music around the piano. He had a wonderful life, and we will forever be blessed and grateful to have been a part of it.

Calling hours will be from 2 to 5 pm on Friday, January 20, 2023, at Saint Joseph Church, One Obtuse Hill Road, Brookfield. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Saint Joseph at 10 am on Saturday, January 21. There will be a Burial with Military Honors at Newtown Village Cemetery, 20 Elm Drive, Newtown.

Arrangements are being handled by Honan Funeral Home.

If anyone would like to make a donation in Tom’s name, please consider a gift to any of these three organizations that were so important to him throughout his life: CIFC Health (120 Main Street, Danbury CT 06810 or online at cifc.org/home/pages/make-donation; please note that the gift is in memory of Dr Thomas Draper); Danbury Hospital (Danbury Hospital Foundation c/o Foundation, PO Box 22539, New York NY 10087-2539 or online at https://bit.ly/3GXbHmI and reference the Dr Thomas Draper Education Endowment Fund); or St Rose of Lima Church (46 Church Hill Road, Newtown CT 06470 or online at strosechurch.com).