Thomas McIntyre, one of America’s renown outdoor writers, died at his home on November 3, 2022 in Sheridan. He was 70 years old and died of natural causes.

He was born in Downey, California on January 23, 1952. Educated by the Jesuits at Loyola High School and Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Tom was a wildly curious and a well-read individual. Few things on this mortal coil did not interest him.

As a writer, he focused on hunting and the outdoors. At age nineteen, he made his first trip to Africa, developing a life-long affection for the continent. He returned numerous times over the years. Yet Tom did not limit his travels to the Sahara and savannah. He visited every continent in the world except Antarctica, writing story after story. They numbered in the hundreds and graced the pages of nearly every outdoor magazine imaginable: Field and Stream, Sports Afield, Petersen’s Journal, Outdoor Life, Bugle, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Sporting Classics, Men’s Journal, Garden and Gun, and the London-based, The Field.

Tom was one of the few writers listed as a contributing editor for both Sports Afield and Field and Stream. Sporting News and Carl Zeiss Optics recognized him for his work, awarding him prizes.

He also wrote prolifically for the screen, creating 750 episodes of outdoor television programs for Orion Entertainment, including “Buccaneers & Bones,” – narrated by Tom Brokaw – and the documentary, “Wyoming: Predators, Prey, and People” for the Wyoming Game & Fish Department.

Tom was probably best known for his books. These include Days Afield, The Way of the Hunter, Dreaming the Lion, Seasons and Days and Augusts in Africa. In 2012, he published his only work of fiction, The Snow Leopard, which critics hailed as a minor masterpiece.

Shortly before his death, he completed what he considered his magnum opus, Thunder Without Rain, a history of the cape buffalo. Five years in the making, publication is scheduled for February 2023.

It would be an impoverishment to suggest Tom was merely an “outdoor writer.” He possessed knowledge on an astounding range of subjects. If you wanted to have a conversation about the vagaries of African big games rifles then, in the next sentence, delve in the interpretations of a passage from James Joyce’s Ulysses, Tom McIntyre was your man. He also had an encyclopedic knowledge of film and not just the Oscar winners, either.

He relished a dry martini (no olives, please) and good food. In his travels, he sampled rather unorthodox fare, including musk ox bile in Greenland. He also savored rigorous conversation. Tom possessed both a wicked sense of humor and a huge and generous heart. He loved his family above all. He is survived by his wife Elaine, son Bryan, daughter-in-law Morgan, brother Robert, many extended family members, and a tireless English cocker named Mickey. A memorial service is planned for spring of 2023.

From a friend of Tom and Elaine:

Many of us who were fortunate enough to spend time, work with, or perhaps share a hunting camp with Tom will always remember his warm heart, generous ways, quick smile and quick wit. His knowledge knew no boundary and was as diverse as his imagination would wonder. When speaking with Tom, the topic at hand was not as important as the dedication and depth of the discussion itself. A spirited debate was always embraced and embraced with equal enthusiasm for the next.

Tom touched so many brands in the outdoor industry and so many of us along the way. His zeal and zest for knowledge, the arts, history, conservation and the outdoors is certainly a source of inspiration for us all.

If you’d like to make a donation in memory of Tom, please do so to a conservation organization of your choosing or perhaps your local art community.

Godspeed, Tom McIntyre…you’ve blessed so many of us on your journey through life.

Photo credit: Dainis Hazners