Thomas Hanley

HANLEY, THOMAS E. 87, formerly of Woonsocket, RI and Pocasset, MA, died Monday January 13, 2014. He was predeceased by his spouse of fifty-nine years, Claire (Benoit) Hanley. He was born in Albany, NY, and was the son of the late Earl and Lillian (Lapierre) Hanley. He was the brother of the late Norman Hanley. Mr. Hanley served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1944 to 1946. He received a BS in Education from the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Tufts University in 1951, a MFA in Painting from Boston University in 1960 and a MA in Teaching Fine Arts from Assumption College in 1968. From 1951 to 1968 Tom was the Art Teacher at Woonsocket High School and from 1968 to 1980 he was the Supervisor of Art for Woonsocket Public Schools K-12. During the 1950's he owned and operated Hanley's Art Studio where he sold art supplies and made custom frames. In 1980 Tom retired from Woonsocket and moved to Pocasset, MA with his wife, Claire. Mr. Hanley took a position at the Bourne Public Schools where he was the Director of Art K-12 and a high school art teacher. He retired in 1990. Tom was a member of numerous art associations in RI and MA including the Providence Watercolor Club (President and VP), the RI Art Teachers' Association (President), the Alliance for Arts in Education (Executive Board), Bourne-Wareham Art Association (President), the Bourne Cultural Council (Chairman) and Printmakers of Cape Cod (President). Tom was the RI Art Teacher of the Year in 1980 and Outstanding Art Educator in Massachusetts in 1987. Tom exhibited his art work in galleries, museums and associations throughout RI and MA as well as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. He also lectured and demonstrated his printmaking techniques throughout New England. During his retirement, Tom volunteered with the Bourne Council on Aging and the Falmouth Hospital Auxiliary. He and his wife, Claire, were named Bourne Senior Citizens of the Year in 1999. Tom was responsible for acquiring and hanging 400 pieces of original art work throughout the Falmouth Hospital as well as coordinating art shows and obtaining student created tiles for murals he installed at the hospital. In 2008 the art gallery was dedicated in his name and is now known as the Thomas E. Hanley Art Gallery. Tom's passion for art and love for travel took him and his wife around the world. Together they lived life to the fullest and enjoyed all it had to offer. He is survived by his two daughters, Anne-Marie DiFusco and her husband Frank of Cranston, RI, and Diane Prengaman and her husband David of Riverside, RI; his grandchildren, Natalie DiFusco-Funk and her husband Brandon, Ryan Holmes, and Alison Prengaman. His funeral will be held Monday, January 20, 2014 at 9:30 AM from the Holt Funeral Home, 510 So. Main St., Woonsocket, RI, with a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:30 AM in St. Joseph's Church, 1200 Mendon Rd., Woonsocket. Calling hours are Sunday from 1 - 4 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Falmouth Hospital Auxiliary, 100 Ter Heun Dr., Falmouth, MA 02540. www.holtfuneralhome.com