Thomas Francis Mahoney

Thomas Francis Mahoney, 91, of Union, N.J., passed away on Monday, June 3, 2013. The visitation will be on Thursday, June 6, 2013, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Growney Funeral Home (www.growneyfuneralhome.com), 1070 N. Broad St., Hillside, N.J. Tom served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was present at the attack on Pearl Harbor and participated in major battles of the Pacific. He spent many years speaking to civic groups and schools to recount his experiences and to honor all veterans. Tom helped to establish the Union Township and Union County monuments to Pearl Harbor, as well as having a Turnpike extension named after the event. Most of his working life was spent in theater as a grip, a master electrician, and master carpenter. He then worked as an electrician at Kean University. In 2013, Tom received the Distinguished Service Medal from the State of New Jersey. Tom was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, Inc., and president of Chapter 2 in New Jersey, and also a member of V.F.W. Michael A. Kelly Post 433 and the American Legion/Connecticut Farms Post No. 35 of Union, N.J. He was also a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the USS O'Bannon Shipmates Association and Tin Can Sailors Inc., and an honorary member of V.F.W. Post 1333 of Asbury Park, N.J. He was a participant of the Rutgers Oral History Archive. He was the beloved husband of Claire B. (nee Baunlein) Mahoney; devoted father of Kathleen Shepherd and her husband, James, and Laura Mahoney, and is also survived by a grandson, Peter Shepherd. In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated in his memory to the Friends of Union Military Park, for the construction of the Thomas Mahoney Union Military Park, which will be dedicated in November 2013, c/o VFW, P.O. Box 331, Union, N.J. 07083.