Thomas P. Heraty

1934 - 2023

... of Ayer & Shirley

SHIRLEY - Thomas P. Heraty, 88, of Shirley, formerly of Jamaica Plain, died Friday, May 26, 2023 at Fitchburg Healthcare, Fitchburg. Tom was born in Boston, October 17, 1934, one of nine children born to John M. and Mary K.(Quinn) Heraty both from County Mayo, Ireland. Tom was a longtime Boston resident and was a graduate of Boston Trade High School. He loved to tell the story that as a young man he worked at Fenway Park with his brother John throwing peanuts to patrons. During the Korean Conflict, at the age of 17, Tom proudly enlisted in the United States Navy and as a Signalman on the USS Dortch (DD-670) a Fletcher class destroyer. Before moving to the Ayer/Shirley area in 1993 Tom's career was spent as an HVAC technician at Atlas Oil Company in Boston. After several years, Tom owned and operated his own handyman and repair service known as The Handyman aka "Tom Terrific". Tom leaves his partner of thirty years, Marcia (Picard) Sullivan of Shirley; his daughter, Lynn Theresa Whittemore Heraty, of Fairhaven; his two brothers Daniel Heraty of Braintree, Peter Heraty of Providence, RI; three sisters Nancy D'Attilio of Dedham; Kathleen Collins of Pembroke and Patricia Ferrante of Weymouth, two grandsons, Vincent Thomas Whittemore of Braintree and Matthew Joseph Whittemore of Boston; a great grandson, Vincent Thomas Whittemore of Dedham, along with many nieces and nephews. Tom also leaves Marcia's extended family which includes her son, Frederick Sullivan of Pittsboro, NC; her four daughters, Patricia Peters of Ayer, Pauline Sullivan of Norfolk, VA, Deborah Sullivan of NY, NY, Mary Sullivan of Sandwich along with ten grandchildren and seven great grandchildren Tom was predeceased by his wife, Anne (Hansen) Ricci Heraty in 1990. He was the brother of the late John Heraty, Eugene Heraty, Maureen George. And was also predeceased by Marcia's daughter, Lynne Sullivan, of Lunenburg, Tom enjoyed travelling the country in his motorhome with Marcia and was a longtime member of the Family Motorcoach Association (FMCA), Yankee Travelers and Cape Cod Chapters.

Funeral services will be held 2 PM Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Anderson Funeral Home, 25 Fitchburg Road (Rte 2A) Ayer. Tom's family will receive relatives and friends at calling hours 4-7 PM Friday, June 2, 2023 at the funeral home. Please see www.andersonfuneral.com for additional information.



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