The Grainger Society mourns 

Thomas Slattery

author of Percy Grainger, The Inveterate Innovator 

The International Percy Grainger Society lost a treasured, longtime friend, Thomas Slattery, on November 2, 2020.  We are grateful for his work and and deep understanding of Percy Grainger's music. He will be sorely missed. 

"Tom's 1974 book really put Grainger on the map and extended an understanding of his music to a whole new audience," said Barry Ould, President, International Percy Grainger Society. "Many in the music world still read this book today for a unique look and deeper understanding of Grainger's work."   

R. Thomas Carl Slattery was born July 31, 1935, in La Crosse, Wisconsin and graduated from Waterville High School in 1953.

He earned a music scholarship at the Rochester School of Music in New York.  After his 1958 graduation, he was  drafted into the U.S. Army where he served 1959-1961 as a member of the 7th Army Symphony Orchestra. After Army discharge, he taught music in the Iowa public school system. He then attended the University of Iowa, where he earned both his masters degree (1966) and Ph.D. (1967) in music. His doctoral dissertation published in 1974 under the title "Percy Grainger: The Inveterate Innovator," which has since become required reading for graduate music students.

From 1966 to 1979 he was a tenured professor and department chairman for the School of Music.

Tom's family includes his wife Clare, and two sons, Tom (Lisa) of Cedar Rapids and James (Susan) of Sacramento, Calif.; four grandchildren, Joe, Alex, Brandan and Ella; sister, Ellen (Charlie) Quandt of Kokomo, Ind.; brother, Don (Marilyn) of Orlando, Fla.; and several nieces and nephews. 

Memorial donations may be made to the Thomas C. and Clare L. Slattery Scholarship in Writing at Coe College. Online condolences may be left at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.

"We are deeply saddened by this loss,"  continued Barry Ould. "The Grainger community offers his family our sincerest condolences. Tom and his work will truly live forever in the pantheon of Grainger biographers. We will be forever grateful for his work."