Obituary of Thomas Anthony McDonnell

Thomas Anthony McDonnell, 73, a longtime resident of Wappingers Falls, passed away March 30, 2015 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie after a short battle with cancer. He was born on March 14, 1942 in Worcester, MA to the late John J. and Anne (Nancy) E. (Caulfield) McDonnell. Tom graduated from St. Peter's Marion High School in Worcester. He attended Worcester State Teacher's College before serving four years in the United States Air Force as a radar repair technician in Libya. He went on to work for IBM in Poughkeepsie as a computer technician and later worked at IBM East Fishkill as an inspection robotics programmer before retiring in 1995 after thirty years of service. Tom married Judith A. Vahle on April 26, 1975 at St. Mary's Lady of the Falls Church in Wappingers Falls. In addition to his wife, Tom is survived by their son, John C. McDonnell, a daughter-in-law, Rachel McDonnell, and a granddaughter, Hannah McDonnell, of Chicago, IL. Tom is also survived by his brother, James McDonnell and his wife Joyce, of North Grafton, MA, by his sister-in-law, Elaine Spanski and her husband Greg, of Golden, CO, and by their respective children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, John J. McDonnell, Jr. Tom was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He had a wonderful sense of humor and loved watching NASCAR races and NY Giants games and working on cars, including building a dune buggy and later building a kit car with his son John. Tom was a communicant of St. Mary's Lady of the Falls Church in Wappingers Falls. The family wishes to thank all the doctors and nurses at Vassar Brothers Medical Center who treated him and gave him comfort during the past five months and his caregivers and therapists at the River Valley Care Center in Poughkeepsie. Friends may call at Straub, Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home, 55 E. Main St. in Wappingers Falls on Tuesday, April 7th from 4 to 7 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, April 8th at 10 am at St. Mary's Lady of the Falls Church, 11 Clinton St., Wappingers Falls. Entombment will follow at Fishkill Rural Cemetery, Route 9, Fishkill. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tom's memory to a charity of your choosing. To send the family a personal condolence or for directions, please visit our website at www.StraubCatalanoHalvey.com.