Tom Flower was born in Denver, Colorado in 1953. He is the son of the late Mr. Lou Flower and Alice Flower who resides in Wickenburg, Arizona. Tom is one of six boys in the Flower Family.  However, Les Flower, Tom's younger brother was killed in an automobile accident in Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 1984. Tom's four remaining brothers reside in California, Nebraska, Kansas, and Arizona.

Tom graduated from high school in 1972 from Idalia High School in Idalia, Colorado. Prior to graduation, Tom attended high school in Alliance, Nebraska and Wickenburg, Arizona. While in high school, he participated in basketball, wrestling, rodeo, and FFA.

Tom attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado from 1972 to 1974. He received an Associate's Degree in Agriculture Education and also served as the Student Body President from NJC in 1974. While attending NJC, Tom participated on the college rodeo team as a bull rider, saddle-bronc rider, and calf roper. He also developed a keen interest in the sport of golf while at NJC. He still plays on his home course, St. Andrews at Westcliffe, in Westcliffe, CO.

Tom transferred to Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO in 1974 where he also participated on the college rodeo team. He also won the Master Livestock Showmanship title at the Little National Western Livestock Show in Ft. Collins in 1975. Tom  extensively showed Quarter horses while in college and high school. He received his Bachelor's of Science Degree in Agriculture Education from CSU in 1976.

Tom's teaching career began in Otis, Colorado as the high school agriculture education teacher and FFA Advisosr. He taught in Otis from 1976 to 1979, when he left teaching to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the Agriculture Research Service. Tom left the USDA in 1981 to pursue farming and ranching interests in Akron, Colorado. He opened his own antique refinishing and woodworking business in 1983 in Woodland Park, Colorado and moved his business to Ft. Collins, CO while his wife, Cindi, completed her Master's of Education degree at CSU.

Tom accepted his current teaching position as the Agriculture Education instruction at Custer County High School in 1986. Following a three-year period as the Ag. Teacher and FFA Advisor, Tom and his family moved to Reno, Nevada to pursue business interests with this two older brothers. After two years of involvement in the drilling and gold exploration industry, Tom and his family returned Westcliffe, CO and his teaching position in 1991.

In 1999, Tom earned his Master's of Education degree in Technology in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA  Two years later, Tom became the first agriculture teacher and one of the first two career and technical educators in Colorado to receive the prestigious certificate from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards in San Antonio, Texas. Along with that certificate, Tom also holds a lifetime membership in the Colorado Young Farmers Education Association, a Colorado Master Teacher Certificate, a Colorado Professional Teaching License, and also a Credential for Career and Technical Education for Colorado.

Over the years, Tom has been a member of the Wet Mountain Valley Rotary Club, the local saddle club, fair board, and Cooperative Extension Advisory Committee in Westcliffe, Colorado.

Tom's wife of 27 years, Cindi, is a paramedic at Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, CO and is currently working on becoming a registered nurse. They have one daughter, Ceri, who is currently a junior at the University of Colorado in Greeley, Colorado studying Kinesiology and Physical Education. Ceri attended Otero Junior College in La Junta, Colorado on an academic and volleyball athletic scholarship and graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in 2002. She is also a graduate of Custer County High School in Westcliffe, Colorado.

While Tom has continued to be involved in agriculture and education, he decided to write and perform cowboy poetry as a means of sharing his life and western heritage with people from all walks of life. Tom's first poem, The Line Shack, takes his listeners on an intriguing trip into the high country of Colorado where a young buckaroo makes a life changing discovery, thanks to the guidance of a grizzled, veteran cowhand, Old Bill.

Tom published his first book in the summer of 2002 and followed it with the release of this first CD, entitled, Tom Flower, Cowboy Poet. This album is available as a CD or on cassette tape. Tom hopes to record a second album to be released in 2004. Plans are also underway to write and record an album of Christian Cowboy Poetry. Tom plans to publish his second book, The Barns of Custer County, which will be a blend of looking at barns, poetry, and stories from Custer County, Colorado. As a way of educating young people about the agriculture lifestyle, Tom has a project underway of writing a series of children's books, which showcase the life of a six-year old cowpoke as he lives and grows on his family's ranch. Tom's dream is to 'spread the message' of what it is like to grow up on a family farm or ranch to youngsters all over America. Perhaps, if young people learn what it means to be a farmer or rancher, they will grow into adults that have a greater understanding and respect for the American agriculturist.