Obituary of Thomas J. Beirne

Thomas J. Beirne of Springfield died on Sat, Sept 17, 2011. He was 84. A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Rose of Lima Church, 50 Short Hills Ave, Short Hills, on Friday, Sept 23rd at 10:00 AM. Burial will be at the Brig Gen. William Doyle Veteran Cemetery in Arneytown. Visitation will be held at The Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home 2122 Millburn Ave, Maplewood on Thursday 2-5 PM Only. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to any veterans' organization would be welcome. Born in Orange and raised in West Orange, he attended West Orange High School and in 1944 enlisted in the Navy, serving as a radioman and on PT boats aboard the USS Willoughby in the South Pacific. After armistice was declared, he participated in the liberation of American and Australian prisoners of war from Japanese prison camps. He reenlisted in the Marine Corps during the Korean War and served in recruiting and as a drill instructor at Camp Lejeune. A graduate of Upsala College, he was employed by the Bell System for over 40 years before his retirement in 1984. He was a Former District Deputy of the Knights of Columbus and Past Commander of the Springfield VFW Post, and was a member of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans, the Springfield Elks Club, the National Association of Retired Telephone Engineers, the Lackawanna Power Squadron, and the Keyport Yacht Club. He was also a former member of the Appalachian Mountain and Union County hiking clubs. In retirement, he was active in veterans' affairs and designed and oversaw the construction of the veterans' memorial in Springfield. He was an active volunteer with the Newark Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and in 2004 received a Volunteer of the Year award from that chapter. Mr. Beirne is survived by his wife Nancy; two children, Thomas J. Beirne of Highland, Md., and Carol Gratacos of Mine Hill; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a sister, Barbara Squires, of West Orange, and numerous nieces and nephews. Two sisters pre-deceased him.