Thomas Walter Fidrych Sr.

1931 - 2019

PORTLAND - Certified Public Accountant Thomas Walter Fidrych, Sr., 88, passed away at home on Aug. 12, 2019 after a brief illness. He was a resident of Portland. Tom was raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the sixth of seven children born to Stanislas and Anna Fidrych, immigrants from Poland. His father was a coal miner, and his mother, a homemaker. Tom's parents spoke little English and discussions at home entailed his parents speaking in Polish, and Tom and his siblings replying in English. The coal companies spoke yet a third language, setting off a series of whistle toots at night to indicate which miners had work the next day.

Tom spent much of his youth hunting and fishing in and around Wilkes-Barre, and he would walk miles, up and down the nearby mountains, picking berries for his mother's homemade pies and jams. He often stayed overnight in the woods, laying a poncho on the brush, and sleeping next to a fire. His mother gave him 25 cents to walk five miles to the market and bring home a duck, its head sticking out of a burlap bag, quacking away through the streets of Wilkes-Barre. Tom's parents encouraged their children to seek better lives for themselves. His brother, John, opened a butcher shop and small supermarket. Brothers, Leon and Robert, became engineers. Brother, Stanley, became a tool and die maker, and a vocational school instructor. Sister, Margie, opened a convenience store and restaurant where Tom worked after school.

Tom enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school in 1949. He was in radio repair school when the Korean War broke out, and following graduation his class was sent to Korea. Upon arrival, his platoon leader stated Tom would be part of a radio-relay team, constructing and manning antenna stations on top of mountains, and he and his squad would be replacing a unit just 'wiped out.' Later asked if he was afraid, Tom replied, 'No, we were 19 years old and wanted adventure, and the experiences our older brothers had had in World War II.' The mountains of Korea were just like home. Tom served two years in Korea and earned four Bronze Stars, the United Nations Service Medal, and a Good Conduct Medal. Later, he enjoyed showing his children photos he took in Korea, including those of enemy Chinese soldiers traversing the mountains at night carrying torches. Tom said he and his fellow soldiers rolled boulders down the mountains towards the enemy to mimic rockslides, and create a little havoc.

After his honorable discharge from the Army, Tom returned to Wilkes-Barre where decline of the anthracite coal industry caused widespread unemployment and little opportunity. He and his friends drove to New Jersey each week to work in shoe factories, auto assembly plants, and shipyards, and returned to Wilkes-Barre on the weekends to hunt and fish. Tom eventually worked for Trailways, driving a bus between New York City, Springfield, Boston, and Portland. His outgoing and friendly personality put riders at ease, and many engaged Tom in lively discussion. He made friends easily. He would later earn an award for one million miles of accident free driving. While on vacation in 1963, Tom's car was struck broadside by another vehicle, and the accident nearly killed him. When the ambulance arrived at the scene, Tom, lying on his side across the front bench seat, instructed the paramedics not to place him on his back, or he could choke to death. He learned this during army training, and it saved his life. While recuperating in the hospital with a broken jaw and ribs, he received a Get Well card from Rosemary, introduced to him by mutual friends a few years earlier at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York. They married a year later and decided to move to Portland to raise their family. Tom enjoyed hunting and fishing throughout Maine with his sons, Tom Jr. and John. He also had a lifelong fascination with aircraft, earned his private pilot's license, and spent weekends in the late 1960s flying small planes from the Portland Jetport. Tom became Secretary-Treasurer of the Amalgamated Transit Union of New England, and he led the union's successful negotiation for a pension plan. He immersed himself in pension laws and regulations and enjoyed meeting with the company's actuaries, accountants, and attorneys while negotiating the details of the plan. It was a precursor to his next career.

In the late 1970s, Tom saw the handwriting on the wall for the busing industry when the transportation sector was being deregulated. In 1980, Tom enrolled in a full-time BS Accounting program at Husson College in Portland. For four years, Tom drove for Trailways during the week, studied in hotel rooms in Springfield and New York at night, and attended classes at Husson College on Saturdays and Sundays. He was awarded a BS in Accounting in 1984, and later earned an MBA from New Hampshire College, and an MS in Taxation from Thomas College at age 70, all while working full time. He was named to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, and became a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Tom later became an adjunct Professor of Accounting and Taxation at Andover College, Husson College, and Southern New Hampshire University. He loved teaching, and taught for over 20 years. Tom started his own accounting practice from home with one client in 1984, grew it rapidly, and eventually moved his practice to offices at 100 Commercial Street in Portland where he worked alongside Rosemary, and their son, John. He worked through the most recent tax season. Tom loved speaking with his clients and helping them with their businesses. Many would stop by during the year to say hello, and stay for long discussions. Tom had a genuine interest in people and their paths in life, where they were from and what they did. Tom loved the journey of life, his wife, his children and grandchildren, extended family, friends and clients. Simply stated, Tom loved people, and he will be dearly missed.

Tom is survived by Rosemary, his wife of 54 years, and their three children: son, Thomas W. Fidrych Jr. and wife, Leila Melbourne; son, John Fidrych; and daughter, Beth-Anne Kanecke and husband Ron Kanecke, as well as their four grandchildren: Tommy Fidrych, Zoe Fidrych, Isabella Fidrych and Ryan Kanecke. He is also survived by his brothers: Leon Fidrych and Robert Fidrych, as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Mass in honor of Thomas W. Fidrych, Sr. will be held on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2019, 11 a.m., at St. Joseph's Church, 673 Stevens Avenue, Portland. A reception in celebration of Tom's life will follow at DiMillo's Restaurant, 25 Long Wharf, Portland. Internment at Arlington National Cemetery will take place at a future date.

Please visit Thomas's online guestbook at www.jonesrichandbarnes.com

Memorial contributions may be made in Thomas W. Fidrych, Sr's name to:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

501 St. Jude Place

Memphis, TN 38105