In the history of the TV business, Tom Dees is known as a “one-man band.” He is well-known for his long and respected career as a reporter and anchor for FOX13 News, which is the best place to get news in the Tampa Bay area. During 2001, he worked with the FOX13 News team. He was a co-anchor for the 5 and 10 pm news shows on the station.
Tom Dees has been honored by the Associated Press and the Florida Associated Press Broadcasters, among other groups. In the list of awards and honors, the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award was given to Dees. The award was given to him after he wrote about Hurricane Hermine in 2016.
When he talks about how he writes his reports, Tom says that he writes about the whole world. He told stories from almost every part of the world. His national reporting includes the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shootings and the Fort Myers Pulse Nightclub massacre. His international reporting includes places like Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East.
Tom Dees’s list of works also includes his work as a columnist for the Tampa Tribune and a number of radio variety shows. He is also well-known for being a guest on national TV shows like ABC News and CNN. He is also known for the money he has given to organizations and projects like the Wounded Warrior Project and the American Red Cross.
Early Life of Tom Dees
Tom’s early life includes his father, who was a retired US Air Force Navigator, and his mother, who used to have a successful career as a teacher. He grew up in Indiana and went to Mississippi State University because of that. Because of his dad’s job, he moved to Hawaii, California, and a few other places.
After graduating from college in 1987, the young reporter went to work for a TV news station. He worked in the news business beginning in 1988. He knew many languages, like English and Spanish, very well. He joined the FOX13 team right away and worked there for as long as he could.
Dees lives with his wife and their three children. Even though Tom is a well-known person, his family prefers to stay out of the spotlight. But even so, Dees’ social media often showed a beautiful bond between family members through conversations they had with each other.
What Happened to Tom Dees?
When the voice of the FOX13 news report went silent for good, everyone was quiet and in a state of grief. On February 9, 2023, the only person on the FOX13 team died at his home in Desoto County. The sources said that the anchor was being treated for IPF, also known as Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease that can make it hard to breathe.
He was hospitalized because of the disease, but he couldn’t take it any longer. He died at the age of 57. People say that Tom’s father also had the same disease, which killed him in the end. One year before he died, his father died in April. It was also in the news that Tom’s birthday, which he was going to spend with his family and friends the day after the sad event, would be the next day.
FOX13 said that Tom had been a Multimedia Journalist for their company for the past few years after the death of a well-known reporter or anchor. He was known as a one-man army who was known as the most honest and patient person in the history of journalism.
FOX13 also said that the man was able to write two news stories in a single day. He knows so much about real people because he used to be one of them. This is what Tom’s old workstation said about him.
Tom Dees was known for how much he loved and cared about journalism. He was so passionate about it that his stories had deep and positive effects on people. His team, FOX13, said that he was one of the most important things they had. Not only was he a great journalist, but he was also a great person.