Thomas David AYNSLEY

20 April 1992 - 16 March 2017

Tom was a lover of everything to do with Coffee. He was passionate about the product, its origins, its history and growth, the cool vibe of the emerging global coffee culture, and the prospect of building a career and future in the coffee industry.

Tom and the Coffee Industry

Tom believed that coffee should be sourced from communities that are sustainable and that are focused on organic and ethical production. He had a great interest in building an entrepreneurial career based on learning about the product and the industry from the ground up. He particularly liked the community and atmosphere that surrounds coffee believing that “it generates a lot of positive energy” and was something he thought “would be awesome to be involved in”.

Tom was a young Australian who passed away peacefully and unexpectedly, one month prior to his 25th birthday on 16th March 2017. He was a thoughtful and kind, clean living person, who valued honesty, integrity and ethical commitment in all parts of his life. When Tom prepared his notes for his interview for his first role in the coffee industry with the Allpress Espresso Group he summed himself up in the following way:

“I see myself as quite a simple person, pretty easy going and relaxed, straightforward and honest - accountability and honesty is easiest”

Tom’s  family began a Memorial Foundation in remembrance of Tom, with donations used to create a fund that focuses on assisting communities involved in the production of coffee. Many communities involved in the production of coffee around the world are in developing nations that require support as they move towards longer term sustainability. This includes the need for support of children in schools, farmers and their families, and agricultural implements, equipment and infrastructure.

Through the ongoing application of Tom’s Foundation he will continue to have a positive impact on the lives of many...

More About Tom

Tom’s story began with his birth in Sydney Australia on the 20th of April 1992, the son of Mike and Belinda Aynsley and brother of Robert, Christopher and Emma.

He spent the first five years of his life in Melbourne and moved back to Sydney with his family in 1997, living for the remainder of his school and university years in the suburb of Turramurra on Sydney’s Upper North Shore. He attended Wahroonga Bush primary school and then Barker College at Hornsby until the end of his high school years.

Tom attended Macquarie University studying for Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts degrees, majoring in International Business, which he completed in 2014.

During his school and university days, Tom worked in a number of jobs to earn enough money to support his interests. He worked in retail, as an auction assistant, as a school sports coach, as a barman, and as a Team Leader at the company ‘Boost Juice’.

Tommo was a very keen sportsman with a particular interest in Australian Rules Football at which he excelled as a member of the St Ives Australian Rules Football Club, and then the North Shore 'Bombers' Football Club. He won premierships in 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009. More important than the game itself, Tom developed some of his most significant friendships during this time.

Following Tom's passing, the North Shore Bombers Football Club hosted a fundraiser... The Tom Aynsley Memorial Day at Mortgage Choice Oval... to honour the memory of Tom. The club said that Tom was "a popular and well-respected clubman, he played 68 games for North Shore, including 10 Premier Division games in 2014; and had played in North Shore’s Under 18s premiership in 2009." The day raised $2,500 which was donated to Tom's Foundation.

See the Gallery of Tom's s love for AFL by clicking here.

He was also an avid golfer, being a member of Pymble Golf Club, and played off a handicap as low as four. In addition, Tom was a courageous downhill skier and a talented tennis player. He always had a keen focus on his health and diet and seemed to find interesting ways to keep active, including volleyball, basketball, soccer, tae kwon do and mixed netball. He loved music and was a regular attendee at concerts and music festivals such as Glastonbury in the UK, Splendour in the Grass in Australia and Zermatt Unplugged in Switzerland. He had many favourite Bands but was an enthusiastic Bon Iver and Boy & Bear fan.

While working at Boost Juice, Tom met his life partner Elizabeth McAndrew (Lizzie) and at the end of 2014, they began the great adventure many Australians have done… the pilgrimage to London, where they lived and worked for 2 years – a process that Tom saw as one of 'work to travel' as part of his discovery of the direction he was to take with his career and in his life with Lizzie.

By the end of 2016, Tom and Lizzie had travelled extensively across Europe and Tom had also undertaken work as a business analyst, with his father's consulting firm in Mayfair, London, working flexibly for about 18 months. It was during this period that Tom had the opportunity to consider his career beyond travel and crystallised his future path in the Coffee industry… an area he had developed an interest in over recent years. Throughout his travels during this period, Tom visited many specialty cafés and roasteries across Europe and in the USA, spent many days reading books and searching social media on coffee, developing a good foundational knowledge on the origin of coffee, its history and the developing industry.

Tommo and Lizzie moved back to Sydney in late 2016, having successfully targeted a company at which to begin his career… the successful and growing café and roaster Group, ‘Allpress Espresso’. His plan was to start at the bottom and learn the necessary skills from the ground up. He was realistic and focused on becoming an expert in the retail aspects and in sourcing and roasting of coffee as a pre-requisite to being a successful entrepreneur in the future.

Tom began his role at Allpress in Sydney in January 2017. He and Lizzie moved into a new apartment together at Potts Point and Lizzie enrolled in another university degree while also working part-time as a Barista. When Tom passed away so unexpectedly on the 16th of March 2017, it was a devastating shock to everyone that knew him.

A Memorial service celebrating Tom's life was held at the Barker College School Chapel, at Hornsby NSW Australia on Sunday 26th March 2017. Over four hundred people were in attendance to farewell Tom, with his partner Lizzie, brothers Robert and Chris, sister Emma, and life-long friend Timothy Weston delivering his eulogy and sharing reflections on Tom’s life.

Tommo inspired people to try… to do the right thing… to act with integrity… to act with honesty… and in all ways… to be kind and decent to everyone you meet.

A crystal-clear message from Tom’s Memorial Service is that Tom should never be considered ‘a sad story’. He left us far too early, but he led an extraordinary and adventurous life and has had a profound and lasting impact on everyone who was fortunate enough to get to know him.

Please consider making a donation to Tom's Foundation. 100% of all donations received in our account will go to Tom's Foundation which was established to provide coffee producing communities with much needed support in day-to-day areas of life as they move towards longer term sustainability.