Thomas J. McGarr was born in Lowell, MA on February 24, 1927 to Etta Frances (Walworth) and Thomas B. McGarr. He attended Lowell public schools for primary grades and Keith Academy for grades 7 - 12.
In 1944 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 and served in World War II with active duty from April 5, 1945 to August 2, 1946. He was a Motor Machinist Mate, 3rd Class on the LCI. His ship landed in Okinawa after the U.S. bombed Japan.
He graduated from UMass Amherst in 1949 and was involved in his fraternity and also earned a spot as a running guard on the football team. Following college, he worked in Templeton, MA as an Ag-Mechanics teacher. He came to Westport in 1952 to teach Agriculture at Westport High School. He was very proud of his young farmers group, and worked as a founder for the Westport Fair. After earning a Master's Degree in Rural Education at Cornell University, he worked as a teacher trainer in Amherst for the Dept of Education. In 1963 he took a position at Norfolk County Agricultural High School as the head of Ag-Mechanics, eventually becoming the director in 1965. He returned to the South Coast in 1975 taking a position with Diman Regional Vocational High School and was appointed Superintendent and worked there until his retirement in 1989.
Mr. McGarr was involved in the Rotary Clubs of Walpole and Fall River. He served as President of the Fall River Club in 1972. He was proud to serve the Town of Westport as a volunteer firefighter from 1953 to 1992. Thomas served on a number of boards including the Diman School Committee, Westport Conservation Board and the Salvation Army. He was a Communicant of St. John the Baptist Church, Westport.
Thomas was married to Jean Ann (Lindsay) McGarr until her death. Together they had 3 sons: Peter, Paul and Thomas, all of Westport. He is also survived by 5 grandchildren: Beth, Sean, Hillary, Luke and Noah; and 2 step-children: Eli Ashook and Mindy Broadbent. He was also the husband of Argent Ashook in 1979 until her death in 2008. He was brother of the late Margeurite Sheehan and Frances Jenkins and dear friend of the late Monica Vandolski.
Mass of Christian Burial to which relatives and friends are invited will be Monday, February 6, 2023 at St. John the Baptist Church, Westport at 10:00 A.M.
Interment will be in Beech Grove Cemetery, Westport.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Thomas J. McGarr Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Diman Regional Voc Tech School, 251 Stonehaven Rd., Fall River, MA 02723.