Thomas C. Garland

Thomas “Tony” Garland passed peacefully in his sleep surround by the love of family on June 23, 2026 at the age of 83. Tony was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts to John and Josephine (Chatfield) Garland, and was raised with his sister Nancy in small towns on Boston’s North Shore. He attended Governor Dummer Academy prep school (class of 1961) and Dartmouth College (class of 1965), where he majored in English and played varsity soccer. After graduation he joined the Peace Corps and taught English for three years in Thailand, where he met Orasa “Noi” Metmowlee, later his wife and partner of more than 55 years.

After three years in Thailand, Tony returned to the United States to pursue medical training, graduating from Tufts Medical School in 1973. He completed an internal medicine residency at St Elizabeth’s Hospital and chief residency at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center, both in Boston, Massachusetts, before moving with Noi to Deer Isle, Maine, to be the first physician at the Island Medical Center. He practiced primary care on Deer Isle for 24 years while raising a family on the island. During that time, he and Noi completed masters degrees in public health at Loma Linda University in 1997; his firm commitment to public health carried through his entire medical career. In 2000, Tony and Noi became Island “summer people,” moving to Washington, DC, where he worked for Unity Health Care for 10 years providing healthcare for homeless patients in shelters, free clinics, and the medical van. A beloved and compassionate doctor with a heart of a poet, he retired from medical practice in 2010. In retirement, he spent his time volunteering in the map room at the Library of Congress, learning to cook Thai food from the best Thai chef around (Noi), and traveling. Tony and Noi relocated to Bainbridge Island, Washington in 2023, where they spent their time exploring the region and playing with their grandchildren.

He is lovingly remembered by his wife Noi, children Joe and Nancy and their husbands Philip and Cole, grandchildren Rowan and Riley, as well as sister Nancy (Garland) Mattern and her family, and countless friends. No memorial service will be held at this time. Remembrances may be made by donation to one of the following:

Garland Scholarship Fund at the Island Educational Foundation, via the Maine Community Foundation https://www.mainecf.org/

Island Medical Center or Memorial Ambulance Corps via Island Health and Wellness Foundation https://ihwf.org/donations/

Healthcare for the Homeless, via Unity Health Care https://www.unityhealthcare.org/services/healthcare-for-the-homeless

Arrangements entrusted to Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island, WA.