Thomas B. “Tom” Middlemiss 88, of Naples, died on August 1, 2024, at the Frances Georgeson Hospice House after a brief illness. Tom, a former resident of New York City, NY, had been a resident of Naples since 2004. He was born February 10, 1936, in Queens, NY a son of the late John F. and Martha (Riordan) Middlemiss.
Tom was a graduate of St. John University. He was a former New York Daily News staff photographer and retired after 22 years. he Served as the NYPPA President while working for the New York Daily News
After moving to Naples he became a parishioner at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 11281. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Honorary Member of the New York City Police Department Honor Legion (the Finest of the Finest), and the American Legion Post 303.
He is survived by his two daughters, Elizabeth A. Muchow (Patrick) of Commack, NY, and Kathleen McDougall (Andrew) of London, England, and two grandchildren, William McDougall and Alex McDougall.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife of 46 years, Marianne K. Middlemiss who died on May 17, 2021, his brother, John Middlemiss, and two sisters, Martha McCormack and Nancy Palmer.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Friday, August 9, 2024, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Burial with military honors will follow in St. John’s Memorial Garden. A reception for family and friends will follow in the Nazareth room.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at T2T.org in Tom’s name.
Tom Middlemiss chronicled New York City street life from the 1960s to the 1980s, an eye witness to tragedy and triumph, poverty, glamour, sports starts and presidents. His pictures were splashed across the cover or inside the New York Daily News, one of the city’s prominent tabloids, where Mr. Middlemiss was made a staff photographer after working as a copy boy and apprentice. His book “A New York Press Photographer’s Story,” which he published through Amazon, is a collection of his photography from the Daily News and an autobiography. It is a testament to an analog era, a gritty and exciting period in the city’s life and a photographer who captured the full spectrum of humanity in The Big Apple and beyond in his 40-plus year career.
“Many of the photos in this book may also be disturbing,” he writes. “But many will show the best of New York City.”