Thomas J. Garvey

Birth date: Nov 14, 1929 Death date: Sep 3, 2020

THOMAS J. GARVEY Irish Historian and beloved member of the Irish Community of Andover, Lawrence and Boston, Thomas J. Garvey passed away at Bear Mountain @ Andover on September 3, 2020. He was born in Andover on November 14, 1929 Read Obituary

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Christine Barraford

271w ago

Mr. Garvey, Tom, Tommy...……...these names describe the development of a wonderful friendship. As Assistant in the Andover Veterans Office, I first met Mr. Garvey seven years ago. Although not "like at first sight", he soon became Tom, delighting with everything I ever wanted to know about Ireland but was afraid to ask and a reconnection with my own lost Irish heritage and bygone days. We shared love of music and a common deep faith. My affection for Tommy grew in his later years with visits to Wingate and a whole new community of weaving life's stories. Rest in peace dear friend as you lead the choir of angels in the great AMEN!

Anne Brady

271w ago

So sorry to hear of Toms passing and glad we got to visit him a few years ago in Andover. He took us everywhere and got up early to bake Irish soda bread for us before our visit. I will miss his emails. Rest in peace Tommy.

Anne & Noel Brady
Dublin

Jack Winters

271w ago

I started first grade at St. Augustine's with Tom. I think he was one of the biggest kids and I was one of the smallest. We stayed together through CCHS class of '48. We were not close friends but we shared lots of memories, especially the St. Patrick's Day plays that the Nuns presented each year with the help of Miss ... (now if Tom were here, he'd remember her name). I reconnected with him via email and at reunions the past 20 years and had a lot of fun with him bringing me up to date on current happenings and reminiscing about bygone days. His memory for names and events was uncanny. He will be missed by us left behind but he'll be striking up the band behind the gates of Paradise.

Jack Winters

Noel Barron

271w ago

So sorry to hear of Tommys passing, he was such a charricter with a great sense of humour. He had a great love for irish music and loved listening to Ceili House on the radio. Over the years I would give him a call on his radio show on St Patricks Day , he loved playing the old comaillies. 🎹🎹🎶🎶🎶🎶
May he Rest in Peace.

Noel Barron and family.
Donegal, Ireland..

Mary Machado

271w ago

Dear Pat and Family, I was saddened to read of Tom's passing. He was a true legend to the community. May warm cherished memories shared with Him help ease your loss.

John Doherty

272w ago

I knew Tom for probably thirty years and yet every time I talked with him I discovered something I hadn't known about Andover and I'm a Townie from way back. He had a wry sense of humor I found entrancing and he knew where all the bodies were buried- literally and figuratively. He had a positively encyclopedic knowledge of all things Andover- from who sat next to your great aunt when she made her first communion to who your uncle fooled around with in his late 50s. His military record was most impressive but his finest hour came when he was presented with the Combat Medical Badge by the Amy for his life-saving service in the Korean War. I'll miss him greatly- they just don't make them like Tom Garvey any more.

Percy Harman

272w ago

I first met Tommy back in Carrick-on-Shannon (Ireland) when he was visiting the McGreevy family. I was working with the Irish Press newspaper in Dublin but am from Carrick. He travelled back with me to Dublin and stayed with me and Breda overnight. we have kept in touch ever since by Email. He used to refer to himself as "The Knacker". A very funny man. May he rest in peace.

Patrick O’Leary

272w ago

I’m very sorry to hear of Tom’s passing. He was a talented and a living history of the Irish music scene through the years. He was kind enough to drive me around Andover to show me the houses where my mother worked when she first came over from Ireland. His father and my uncle both worked at Phillip’s Academy. He would invite me to where he lived and would encourage me to play Irish trad music on my tin whistle and he would play the piano. I was always amazed that he played such beautiful music all my ear. He was a good man and I always enjoyed his company and his stories of all the different venues he played in through the years. The Irish traditional music community has lost a great man. May he Rest In Peace.

Ronan Mcgreevy

272w ago

I lived with Tommy and his father for two-and-a-half years in Lawrence. They brought me over in July 1961 and I stayed with them until December 1963. They were so kind to me. Tommy always brought me to the Irish dances. He was great fun.If there was a piano anywhere, he would belt out reels and jigs for everybody. I had a very pleasant stay and was showed great kindness by them. We looked forward to his visits to Ireland. He was always full of fun. He loved his auntie (my mother Bridget McGreevy) in Carrick-on-Shannon and the rest of the family of the McGreevys and the Lynchs.He made great efforts to go and visit people in the west of Ireland whose relatives were living in Boston.
Carmel O'Sullivan (Dublin).

Pat Curran

272w ago

Sent a Peaceful White Lilies Basket to the Garvey family.

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