About Tom . . .

Tom Gira, 58, of Potomac died suddenly at home on Saturday, June 20, 2020. Tom is the beloved and devoted husband of Laurie Howell Gira and father to Ellen, 27, and Brad, 24. He and Laurie celebrated their 30th anniversary in October 2019. He is also survived by his sister, Cheryl Pattin of Chicago.

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Tom was born in Baltimore. In 1967, his family was one of the first 100 families to move into James Rouse’s new model city, Columbia, Maryland, whose design was intended to eliminate racial, religious and class segregation, values which he lived out throughout his life. Tom graduated from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland and Wake Forest University, majoring in economics. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland.

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Tom began his legal career at the Securities Exchange Commission, becoming Branch Chief for Options and Derivative Products Regulation within the Division of Market Regulation. He then moved on to become Associate General Counsel of The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.

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Tom joined FINRA (Financial Industries Regulatory Authority) in 1992, where he worked for the last 28 years. At the time of his death, he was Executive Vice President of Market Regulation and Transparency Services. Tom was extremely well-regarded and respected by his FINRA colleagues, and he valued each one of them greatly, as well.  https://www.finra.org/media-center/newsreleases/2020/finra-announces-passing-thomas-gira-executive-vp-market-regulation

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Tom was a special man in the eyes of all who knew him. His sister said it well, “Tom was a wonderful man. He combined a great sense of humor with a quiet brilliance. He was a loving father, husband, and brother with a calm, compassionate manner.” Tom’s interests centered around travel and spending time with his family and friends. He loved all sports. Swimming was his passion, from competitive swimming as a child, to swimming on his high school and college teams, coaching youth summer swimming while in college, and then volunteering with his children’s swim teams. He was an avid Wake Forest Basketball fan, which was often hugely disappointing.

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Tom was a man of faith and was very involved in his church, Gaithersburg Presbyterian, serving as an Elder and on numerous committees. Tom believed in helping others, with a particular concern for ensuring families have food. Accordingly, in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Manna Food Center serving Montgomery County, Maryland, or your local Food Bank in his honor.