Obituary of Thomas McGuire

NAUGATUCK- Mr. Thomas McGuire, 90, of Naugatuck, died late Saturday afternoon Jan. 30th, 2010 at his home. He was the widower of the late Peggy (Boppeler) McGuire and the late Ruth (Murphy) (McCarthy) McGuire. Mr. McGuire was born in Waterbury Feb. 22, 1919, a son of the late Thomas F. and Mary (Cassidy) McGuire. He spent his early years in Thomaston and the Waterville section of Waterbury. He was a WW II, U.S. Army Air Corps veteran, having enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked. From 1942-1943, he flew as a U-boat spotter for anti-submarine patrols in the Atlantic and from 1943-1945 he served in the pacific as a B-25 crew chief as a Master Sergeant in the 820th Bomber Squadron. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic- Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon, the American Theater Campaign Ribbon and the Victory Medal. He remained in the Air Force reserve for over 20 years, and was selected as Connecticut's Air Force Honor man of the year in 1962. He was employed by Chase Brass and Copper Co. in Waterbury for over 30 years, retiring in 1974. He lived in Waterbury with his first wife, Peggy for 23 years, and was married to his second wife, Ruth for 35 years, moving to Naugatuck in 1973. Tom was an active communicant of St. Francis of Assisi Church and a past officer of the Naugatuck Senior Center, the Naugatuck Retired Men's Club, the American Association of Retired Persons, the Taxpayers In Revolt and Oakville Post # 7330, Veterans of Foreign Wars. While a Naugatuck resident, he had been an active participant in town government, servicing on the Charter Revision Commission and an outspoken participant at many Borough Board of Mayor and Burgess' meetings and budget hearings. He leaves one son, Robert T. McGuire and his wife Heather of Sanford, Fl.; 3 grandchildren, Thomas McGuire of Winter Springs, Fl., Hunter V. McGuire of Sanford, Fl., and Lauren M. McGuire of Pasadena, CA and several nieces and nephews. His funeral will be held on Saturday Feb. 6, 2010 at 10:15 am from the Alderson Funeral Home of Naugatuck, 201 Meadow St. to St. Francis of Assisi Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 am. Full military honors will be accorded at church, following the mass. Burial will be in Old St. Joseph's Cemetery, Waterbury, at the convenience of the family. Friends may call at the funeral home on Friday Feb. 5, 2010 from 5 to 8 pm. Members of the Naugatuck Veterans Council will meet at the funeral on Friday at 7:15 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to VNA Hospice, 50 Brookside Dr., Waterbury, 06708 or to the Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center, 1075 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, 06708.