Tom Klobe grew up on a small farm near Young America, Minnesota. His parents taught him to believe in the American ideals of freedom and democracy, in the rights and privileges of being an individual, and, most importantly, that "all men are created equal." His parents taught him to question authority and to "Always do the right thing, no matter how difficult it is."

When he moved to Hawaii in 1959, a year after finishing high school, he felt he could freely live the American ideals his parents had instilled in him. Freed from the American norm, and realizing that democracy thrives on pluralism and diversity, he could truly be an individual. Foremost, he saw and understood the necessity of equality for all people, and knew that he had to work to ensure that all would have the same opportunities. Though his aptitudes and interests were in art, and he would strive to find ways to mesh his career with his philosophical thought. In the early 1960s, Tom joined the Peace Corps and was posted to Iran which was a life-changing experience.

Philosophically, the people of Alang, Golestān, Iran have been the most important influence on Tom. He learned the importance of the little things in life from them and that every moment must be cherished. It is the people that he works with in community projects, those in the classroom, and those who come to see an exhibition who must be considered first. In a sense the Peace Corps experience became a model for his life.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, he learned the persuasive qualities of quiet leadership that grounded his 29-year career as Director of the University of Hawaii Art Gallery. Tom was the founding director of the University of Hawai’i Art Gallery and emeritus professor in the UH Mānoa Art Department. Each exhibition Tom designed was like a Peace Corps tour of duty for him; a project that allowed him to learn about the world, himself, and others. Each has allowed him to experience the exultation of discovery that he first experienced as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Tom organized and designed over 200 exhibitions, five of which received the prestigious Print Casebooks: Best in Exhibition Design Awards. He authored or edited over 35 publications. Tom authored two books -- Exhibitions: Concept, Planning and Design, published by the American Association of Museums Press in 2012 and A Young American in Iran, published by Peace Corps Writers in 2014. Exhibitions provides extensive advice on the art of exhibition development, while exploring how significant ideas are communicated to museum visitors through exhibit design. 

 In 1999 Tom was honored by the Republic of France as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for contributions to the arts in France and Hawaii. He was the recipient of the University of Hawaii Robert W. Clopton Award for Distinguished Community Service in 2003 and named a Living Treasure of Hawaii in 2005. Tom is currently working on a book about the Cappella Palatina, the royal chapel of the Norman Palace in Palermo, Sicily, which he began in the 1970s.