Thomas Try (OK 2000) died September 21, 2024
Tom Try, a former head boy of King’s, died after a short illness.
Chris Herbert writes:
“Tom was someone completely plugged into what it meant to be alive.
To approach him from across the room, to sit down next to him, I always knew it was going to be time well invested.
I could talk about anything. If I was visiting somewhere, he’d been there. If I was listening to something, he’d heard it. If I was referencing an obscure fact from history, he knew it. Conversation was always so easy with him.
He seemed to completely fill the time he had. Gathering knowledge, devoting himself to hobbies, eating, drinking, laughing, telling anecdotes.
His emotional intelligence was off the scale. He knew when he could tease, how far he could push, and when to leave off and give space. But above all he understood that people in the main want to be happy. They want to laugh. He’d fill conversations with anecdotes and stories in an attempt to keep them light hearted, to make people smile.
He’d never leave a message unanswered for long, and when the response came it’d always feature a joke.
It’s an absolute tragedy that someone that embraced life to such an extent had to leave so early.
I’ll always remember Tom when I hear the phrases ‘Wotcha’, ‘Hey Chief’ and ‘An absolute f**k-tonne..’”
Tom’s family writes:
“Tom Try (OK 2000) died on the 21st of September 2024; he was 42 years old.
Tom was awarded a scholarship to King’s in 1995. As both an academic powerhouse and a burly prop forward, he became a prominent member of the student body and was appointed Head Boy in 1999. Tom went on to read English at St Peter’s College, Oxford, before qualifying as a solicitor and reaching partner at Osborne Clarke law firm.
Tom had a brilliant mind, a razor-sharp wit, and an unmistakable laugh. His unmatched curiosity led to an eclectic array of interests, including history, techno music, fungiculture, and flight simulation, to name a few. Time spent with Tom was invariably hilarious and illuminating in equal measure!
Tom was a devoted husband and father, a loving son and brother, and a loyal, dear friend. He is missed greatly.”