Frank Speziale Photo

NORWICH – Mrs. Thomas M. Flanagan was honored by the trustees of the Greater Norwich Foundaton on Monday. Mrs. Flanagan has retired from the Foundation’s board after serving as a trustee for 39 years, longer than any other trustee.

A proclamation presented to Ether C. Flanagan by the other trustees refers to long and faithful service to the foundation, and announces her election as a Trustee Emerita. The trustees also have established a scholarship in her name, to be presented annually to a Norwich High School graduate.

The Greater Norwich Foundation was founded in 1965, and presently distributes nearly $400,000 annually to local nonprofit organizations. When Mrs. Flanagan was first elected a trustee in May 1974, the other trustees were Robert S. Eaton, Warren E. Eaton Jr., Percy W. Woodruff, Dorothy L. Higley, Charles A. Smith Sr., George W. Bengert, Everett A. Gilmour, and Jean M. Newton.

The foundation has grown as a result of gifts and legacies, large and small, from people who wish to have the income from their money applied to current needs of the greater Norwich community, as determined by the trustees. For 39 years, Esther C. Flanagan has participated in those determinations.

Long-time residents and benefactors of Norwich, Esther Flanagan and her husband Dr. Thomas M. Flanagan, are the parents of seven sons – Thomas, Timothy, Peter, William, Stephen, David and Patrick.

Current trustees are James I. Dunne, Jane E. Eaton, Thomas C. Emerson, Patrick J. Flanagan, Timothy J. Handy, James A. Hoy, Frederic B. Miers, H. William Smith Jr., Peter V. Smith and Linda T. Palmatier.

Pictured in the back row are Frederic B. Miers, James A. Hoy, James I. Dunne, Esther C. Flanagan, Patrick J. Flanagan, and Thomas C. Emerson. Seated are Jane E. Eaton, Timothy J. Handy, Peter V. Smith and Linda T. Palmatier. Missing from the photo is H. William Smith Jr.