Thomas Gavaghan

Thursday, May 29, 2025 Thomas Francis Gavaghan, 95, of Guilford passed away peacefully at The Ark Health Center at Branford Hills, Branford after a brief illness.

Thomas F. Gavaghan was born in Rochester, New York on November 22, 1929, son of the late Thomas J. Gavaghan and Mary (Hebing) Gavaghan. Thomas attended high school at Aquinas Institute of Rochester, graduating in 1947 and immediately signed a baseball contract in 1948 with Philadelphia to play/pitch for Moultrie, Georgia in the Georgia Florida League. After one season he returned to Rochester and attended the McKechnie School of Commerce and University of Rochester part time while working full time.

In 1949, Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve just before the Korean War. In 1950, he attended NYU full time and later that year was activated into U.S. Army service. After returning to Army Reserve status, he finished studies at NYU, earning a BS Magna Cum Laude in 1955. After graduation, Thomas entered AT&T’s Executive Development Program.

He transferred to SNET in Hartford the following year and over the next few years earned an MBA from the University of Hartford. After working as a District Manager and Management Trainer at SNET for 30 years, Thomas was self-employed as a management consultant for 10 years. During his time working at SNET, he was a graduate business adjunct faculty member at the University of New Haven and Quinnipiac University from 1964-1975. In 1999, Thomas began a 17-year employment for the State of Connecticut as an Emergency Management Coordinator, coordinating training and oversight of Emergency Managers in 23 towns. Thomas retired from the State in 2017, just in time to vigorously attend his 70th high school class reunion in Rochester with his daughter, Carroll.

During his working years, he was a passionate runner from age 40-75 and in his retirement, Thomas enjoyed family time, having special pride in his two grandsons, Tom and Sean, and their accomplishments. He loved traveling home and abroad in addition to regularly attending several plays and movies at theaters across CT with his wife, Ini (Beatriz), along with many engagements with dear friends. Until very recently, he attended double classes of Tai Chi twice weekly, used his gym membership 5 days per week and read three newspapers daily, hard copy, supplementing with several online news information sources, from morning until night on all of his Apple devices. Thomas was a lifelong avid sports fan of the NY Giants, NY Yankees and had a heartfelt esteem for UCONN Women’s basketball over the last 25 years. Although Thomas was remarkably accomplished in his life, he was an incredibly humble man and loved by all who knew him. He fought until the very end of his life to grasp every minute with firm fortitude.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Beatriz I. Gavaghan (Radzewski), his daughter, Carroll Cole Gavaghan Ryan, his grandsons, Thomas and Sean, his great granddaughter, Emma Rose, his niece, Linda Gavaghan Conwell, his sister-in-law, Monica and brother-in-law, Elias and several much-loved nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He was predeceased by his brother, James J. Gavaghan, his daughter, Mary Duffy Gavaghan and his former wife, Kathryn Cook Gavaghan.

Services will be held privately and burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, it is the family’s wish to please reach out to someone with an act of kindness in memory of Thomas.