Thomas O’Neal Lennon, 52, of Methuen passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday March 12, 2013. Born in Brighton, MA to Anthony and Eleanor (Reynolds-Cronin), Thomas was raised and educated in North Andover, MA where he graduated from North Andover High School in 1978. Within a couple years of graduating, he began dating his wife Lisa (Kelley) Lennon, whom he married on New Year’s Eve in 1981.
Thomas earned his certificate as a Surgical Technician from the Essex Agricultural and Technical College in 1989. He immediately began a more than 20 year career at the Lawrence General Hospital, where he was a lauded and respected member of their surgical team. A true son of New England, Thomas loved spending time all over the region. His favorite places were Maine and the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, making many trips with family and friends to experience nature and the wonders of life.
Home in Massachusetts held his heart, and there he made a safe and loving home for his wife and two daughters. Thomas was a true friend to all who came to him, and had a wide, varied, and deep social circle. Any chance to dance, socialize, or celebrate, you could find Tom cutting it up on the dance floor. Some who knew him knew him as the Santa Claus of the Merrimack Valley, as he yearly would dress up and bring cheer to all corners of the region. All who knew him found a man who would put on his shining armour and get up on his white horse at the drop of a hat, never hesitating to help a friend in need, no matter the cost to himself.
Thomas is predeceased by his father, Anthony W. Lennon and his brother, Junior Arroyo. He leaves behind his wife of 31 years, Lisa M. (Kelley) Lennon and their two daughters Hillary E. and Amelia L. Lennon, his mother Eleanor Reynolds-Cronin and her husband Michael Cronin, a beloved aunt Mary (Lennon) McGovern, a sister Laurita (Lennon) Marshall, stepsister Becky (Cronin) Woodford and her husband Chris, stepbrothers Jim and Mike Cronin and Jim’s wife Terry (Cunningham), sisters-in-Law Kathryn, Elizabeth, and Lynda Kelley, brothers-in-Law Francis and David Kelley, nephews Jason and Michael O’Neil and their wives Erica (McCabe) and Elizabeth (Wotring), Kevin O’Neil, Brian Kelley, Jeremy Eastman and P.J. Kelley, niece Theresa (Kelley) O’Brien, grandnephews Isaiah O’Neil and Christopher O’Brien, grandnieces Aaralyn, Sabrina, and Amanda O’Neil, and Ashten, Crystal, and Kelley O’Brien, as well as countless extended family members and innumerable friends and colleagues.
ARRANGEMENTS: A funeral service will take place on Monday, March 18, 2013 at 7:00PM at the funeral Home. Friends and family may call on Sunday, March 17, 2013 from 2:00PM to 4:00PM and Monday, March 18, 2013, from 3:00PM to 7:00PM at the John Breen Memorial Funeral Home Inc. 35 Merrimack Street, North Andover, MA. 01845. For more information or to send an online condolence please go to www.breenfuneralhome.com.