DUDLEY-Thomas J. Cleary, Jr., 80, of Dudley, died Friday, January 9th. His wife of 43 years, Alice V. (Moysan) Cleary died in 1994. He leaves eight daughters, Patricia Gage of Dudley, Kathleen M. McNamara of Worcester, Susan A. Cleary of Dudley, Carol A. Forget and her husband Robert of Worcester, Margaret Brooks of Dudley, Maryann J. Beauzile and her husband Sergie of Spencer, Ann M. Cleary and Dorothy I. Cleary both of Worcester; 26 grandchildren; several great grandchildren. His sister, Mary A. Brosnihan and his grandson, Joel Isaac McNamara predeceased him.
Mr. Cleary was born in Worcester, the son of Thomas J. Cleary, Sr. and Mary A. (Dunn) Cleary. He was employed by the City of Worcester Street Department for 47 years as a general foreman until his retirement in 2003. Mr. Cleary was a United States Coast Guard veteran, serving in WWII. He was a member of the VFW Main South Post and the Knights of Columbus.
There were many remarkable characteristics of Tom Cleary. He was a skilled tradesman and mechanic. Tom was also an accomplished mason, a craft that he learned from his father. Among many other accomplishments, he built two homes in which he lived, where he raised his family, and that which he provided homes for many of his relatives to live. Thomas spent his time wisely, and there were some activities that he especially enjoyed doing. During his life, he had at least as many automobiles as he had grandchildren, most of which he gladly maintained himself. In his earlier years, he loved to work on cars, make improvements to his homes, and go fishing. Tom was an avid dog lover throughout his life; he always had at least one dog, usually two or three. Most of all, he enjoyed spending time with his family, whether on vacations to the beach, at cook outs, watching sports, or an occasional dinner out. Thomas was a kind hearted, hardworking man, who loved, appreciated, and cared for all his family and friends. He faithfully attended mass at Sacred Heart Church. He was the patriarch of our large American family; we will cherish our memories of him, and we will miss having Dad/Grampa in our lives.
The funeral is Thursday, January 15th from O’CONNOR BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME, 592 Park Avenue, Worcester with a Mass at 10:00 AM in Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 600 Cambridge Street, Worcester. Burial will be at a later date. Calling hours are Wednesday, January 14th from 5:00 until 7:00 PM in the funeral home.