Paul Flynn
At 92 years old, longtime Tuscany Road resident Paul Flynn could be found on his roof clearing debris from his gutters, causing great anxiety to his neighbors. As a mechanical engineer, Paul prefers to repair an appliance rather than replace it with a new one. Upon visiting his home, one immediately travels back in time, eyeing all the amazing vintage appliances, such as his refrigerator and stove. Paul is one of the few remaining original occupants of Tuscany-Canterbury, and remains the owner of the home he moved to in 1929 as a toddler, together with his four older siblings, when his family became the first residents of Tuscany Road. Paul describes an idyllic childhood playing with other neighborhood children, despite experiencing the financial burdens experienced by most Americans during the Great Depression. Paul’s father was self-employed, and Paul recalls his coming home at lunch to listen to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address on the radio. Paul watched most of the homes on Tuscany and Ridgemede Roads being built, and remembers developer Thomas Mullan soliciting community support for the development of the Ridgemede Apartments (now Condominiums).
After graduation from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Paul attended Johns Hopkins University (JHU) to study mechanical engineering. All three of his older brothers were serving in WW2, and Paul chose to join them. He took an aptitude test that led him to the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois, training to be a radio, sonar, and radar operator. The announcement of “V-J Day” found Paul at the Loop in Chicago, in his Navy uniform. He recalls being showered with kisses by celebrating young women, reminiscent of the famous photograph taken in NY Times’ Square. After completing his PhD at Illinois Institute of Technology, Paul enjoyed a successful career at General Electric, working in their Schenectady, New York division.
Upon retirement, Paul returned home to care for his aging parents and has remained in his boyhood home ever since. Paul embodies that class of distinguished engineers that helped build America after World War II. He remains devoted to the Whiting School of Engineering at JHU and is active in their alumni association as a legacy contributor. TCNA is honored to toast a genuine original in Paul Flynn. Cheers to a life well lived on Tuscany Road!