Thomas Arthur Spragens Jr.

Thomas Arthur Spragens Jr.
June 1, 2023
Durham, North Carolina - Thomas Arthur Spragens Jr, 81, of Durham, NC passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on June 1, 2023. Tom was born March 27, 1942, to Thomas Arthur Spragens, Sr and Catharine Smallwood Spragens in Frankfort, KY. In his early years he lived in Washington, DC, northern and southern California, and in Columbia, Missouri. In 1957 his family moved to Danville, KY when his father became president of Centre College. Tom graduated from Danville High School (1959) and from Wesleyan University (1963). He then came to Duke University as a Danforth Fellow in 1963, where he received his PhD in Political Science in 1968. Tom would say he had a short list of schools under consideration for pursuing his graduate work, and the combination of scholarship, sports, and climate made Duke the obvious winner.
Tom put down deep roots as he pursued his academic career as a Political Theorist and served as faculty at Duke for 48 years, teaching and mentoring many, and producing an impressive body of work. In addition to numerous articles and book chapters, he published eight books starting with The Politics of Motion: The World of Thomas Hobbes in 1973 and ending with Capitalism and Democracy in 2021.
Tom was a productive and methodical scholar. In our current era of "sound bites", and 2-minute segments skimming topics, he had remarkable patience and capacity to grasp big ideas evolving in messy reality over centuries, and to apply these lessons to current times. As a Duke Scholars' website states, "His current research concerns the civic practices important to meet the challenges of democratic self-governance in today's world."
As important as his life's work was, Tom's first and constant passion was his family, followed by lifelong friendships, tennis (lots of tennis!), music, sports (Duke, NY Yankees, and SF 49ers), and a love of nature anchored in Crystal Lake (Frankfort MI). Tom was a dedicated "family man", delighting in children, anchoring many with his calm and open demeanor, rarely ruffled, and often playful. He was "a good man" of character and compassion to his core and will be sorely missed by many.
Tom is survived by his wife of 41 years, Lynn Hill Spragens, daughter Jackie Soule Byerly, sons Stephen Spragens and Taylor Spragens, sister Barbara Kelley, brother David Spragens, his first wife Ann Wood Spragens (mother of Jackie and Stephen), as well as grandchildren Zach, Nathan, Lillian and Henry, step grandchildren Blake and Alexei, nieces Allison, Laura, Liz, nephew John, as well as great nieces and nephews. Beloved Golden Retrievers rounded out the family.
A full-length obituary can be found at "clementsfuneralservice.com".
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to one of these organizations in Tom's honor: Crystal Lake Watershed Association info@crystallakewatershed.org
New Hope Presbyterian Church: 4701 NC-86, Chapel Hill NC 27516