Anthony Joseph McMahon Sr.

McMahon

Anthony Joseph McMahon SR.

November 22, 1935 - November 21, 2023



Anthony (Tony) McMahon passed away November 21, 2023, at Vinson Hall in McLean, VA. He was born on November 22, 1935, in Philadelphia, PA, to Charles and Alice (Schue). Tony graduated from Georgetown University in 1960 after two years of service in the United States Army stationed in Hanau, Germany. He spent his junior year with Georgetown's School of Foreign Service in Tubingen, Germany, and upon graduation he attended the Army's Intelligence School and thereafter was a civilian caseworker for Army Intelligence in Germany.



Upon his return from Germany, Tony enrolled in Georgetown Law School, attending at night while working as an economist at the Federal Trade Commission. He completed his law degree in 1965 and spent two years in Philadelphia's Public Defenders' Office before returning to Washington, DC, and joining the Federal Home Loan Bank Board as a trial attorney. He later accepted appointment as General Counsel of the Government Printing Office. In 1985, he was appointed Chief Counsel of the Federal Highway Administration, where he remained until 1989, when he founded a private law practice specializing in trucking industry regulations and ensuring the continued vitality of many large motor carriers across the country. He was a past Chairman of the Transportation Law Committee of the Transportation Research Board, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, having served five years in that position. He was also a past Chairman of the Transportation Section of the Federal Bar Association and President of the Safety Research Center (SRC). The mission of SRC was to replace the system of federal regulation of interstate commercial motor vehicle driver operations, which relies heavily on record keeping requirements, with a system concentrated on fatigue management.



Professionally, Tony was passionate about the law and truly loved being a lawyer. He talked often about his work and was always willing to convince anyone of the absolute sanctity of a particular position he had taken in a case. Personally, Tony loved his children dearly and was a tremendous teller of intricate stories, which, even if one had heard before, were always entertaining. He was a dedicated member of the Little Flower Church (Bethesda, MD) choir for more than 30 years and remained a loyal member of the Virtembergia fraternity from his college days in Germany. Tony's friends, family, and colleagues will remember him as a playful intellectual who enjoyed singing, reading, and debating politics.



Tony married Marcia Lynn Black of Charlotte, MI, in 1971, and they were divorced in 1987. He was predeceased by his second wife, Paige (Eversole), whom he married in 1992. He is survived by his three children and their families â€" Eleanor (Keith) Sachs and their children, Charles and Greta; Anthony Jr.; Catherine (Luca) Covi and their children, Marco and Louisa; brothers Kevin (Ellen), and John (JoAnn); sister Mary Ellen (James) Smallwood; sister-in-law Helen (Charles Jr. [D]). A celebration of life will be held at a later date.