Obituary of Thomas William Haley

"Palmer- Thomas W. Haley, 95, of Riverview Parkway, passed away March 21, 2007 at Wingate at Wilbraham. Born January 1, 1912, he was the son of the late Daniel and Catherine (Gorman) Haley. Following Catherine’s death when Thomas was 11, his father married Annie (Janes). Tom grew up in West Brimfield and was schooled in a one- room schoolhouse and later graduated from Palmer High School. He bought Haley’s Grain Store in Palmer in 1942 and his family continues to run the store. He also bought and ran Haley’s Smokehouse from 1960-1984. Tom was active in town politics from the 1950’s until 2004, serving as a selectman from 1966-1976 and as town moderator until 1982. He helped develop the Palmer Redevelopment Authority in the 1970’s and remained involved until 2006. He also worked in local real estate and built the Palmer Industrial Park. A communicant of St. Thomas Church, he was a member of its Knights of Columbus. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 71 years, Elizabeth (Leonard) Haley, along with his son Richard and his wife Debbie of Maryville, TN. He also leaves his eight grandchildren Mark, James, Timothy, Eric, Richard, Shawn, Todd and Kevin, and 13 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by a son Brian Haley, Sr., in 1997, and a grandson Brian Haley, Jr., in 1984, along with nine brothers and sisters. Funeral services will be Saturday, March 24 at 9:15 from the Beers & Story Palmer Funeral Home, followed by a Mass in St. Thomas Church at 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow in St. Thomas Cemetery. Calling hours are Friday, March 23 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. For those wishing, donations may be made to St. Thomas Church , Thorndike St., Palmer. "