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Welcome to the memorial page for
Thomas Francis Hanlon
March 11, 1926 ~ June 12, 2015 (age 89) 89 Years OldShare using:
Thomas F. Hanlon
March 11, 1926 ~ June 12, 2015
Thomas Francis Hanlon, 89, died on June 12, 2015 peacefully at his home in South Bend, Indiana.
Tom was married to the love of his life, E. JoAnn Hanlon for 65 years on April 10th. He leaves eight children: Tom (Nancy), Kevin (Michele), Patrick, Timothy (Janine Faini), Margaret (Tom), JoAnn (Marty), Michael (Penny) and Ruth (Steve). Tom was very proud of his 20 grandchildren: Jon Thomas Hanlon (Susanne), Elizabeth Sands (Clayton), Jen Hanlon, Katie Hanlon, Amanda Morine (Grant), Maura Devetski, Tommy Devetski, Christine Miller, Megan Miller, Matthew Miller, Josh Hanlon, Grace Hanlon, Andrew Hanlon, Mary Rose Beier, Rachel Beier, Anna Beier, David Beier and Leah Beier. He also has 4 great grandchildren with twins due in July, as well as one brother, John "Jack" Hanlon. He was predeceased in death by his parents, Joseph and Beatrice; brother, Joseph Hanlon; sisters, Mary Topor and Joan Hanlon; and granddaughters, Jessica Marie Hanlon and Gabrielle Susan Hanlon.
Tom was the last surviving member of the 1944 National Championship Golf Team at the University of Notre Dame. Under the guidance of head coach Rev. George Holderith, C.S.C., Hanlon played as a freshman for the 1944 Irish golf squad that captured the NCAA title with a 311 team score (good for a one-stroke victory over Minnesota) at Inverness Country Club in Toledo, Ohio. Hanlon also advanced to the NCAA individual quarterfinals that season, falling to eventual champion Louis Lick of Minnesota.
Following that 1944 golf season, Hanlon joined the U.S. Navy and served on a cruiser in the Pacific during World War II. After the war ended, he returned to Notre Dame to earn his degree in pre-medicine in 1949, as well as a master's degree in education in 1951. Hanlon coached elementary basketball and track and field at Jefferson Junior High School in South Bend--while also teaching science and math. In 1968 he went into the insurance business with former Irish football coach Ara Parseghian and eventually formed his own firm, Tom Hanlon and Associates, in 1980. He later sold that entity to devote full time to his golf coaching duties at Notre Dame. Hanlon first worked with the Notre Dame women's golf program during its club sport years. He and George Thomas then served as co-head coaches for the Irish from the time the team earned varsity status beginning with the 1988-89 campaign through the 1992-93 season. Hanlon continued for a handful of years as an Irish women's assistant coach and remained a familiar face around the Notre Dame golf facilities while contributing as an administrative assistant for both the women's and men's programs.
He was an active member of St. Therese, Little Flower Catholic Church, where he ushered at 9:30 am Mass for many years. He was a true Notre Dame man in every sense of the word. He felt privileged to be freshman roommates with Dr. Tom Dooley, to take Christian Marriage from Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, and to be friends with Moose Krause, Dan Devine, Ara Parshegian, George Thomas, Joe Yonto, George Kelly, and other Notre Dame greats, but his greatest love was his wife and family.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 am Saturday, June 20, 2015 at St. Therese, Little Flower Catholic Church, 54191 N. Ironwood Road, South Bend. Military graveside services and burial will follow in St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger. Friends may visit with the family from 4:00 - 7:00 pm Friday, June 19, 2015 in the Palmer Funeral Home - Hickey Chapel, 17131 Cleveland Road, South Bend, IN, where a rosary will be recited at 4:00 pm, as well as one hour prior to mass on Saturday in the church.
Memorial donations can be sent to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, 8085 Saltsburg Road, Suite 201, Pittsburgh, PA 15239, www.umdf.org or the Center for Hospice Care, 501 Comfort Place, Mishawaka, IN 46545. Online condolences may be left for the Hanlon family at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com.
Visitation
FridayJune 19, 2015
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Hickey Chapel
17131 Cleveland Road
South Bend, IN 46635
Recitation of the Rosary
FridayJune 19, 2015
4:00 PM
Hickey Chapel
17131 Cleveland Road
South Bend, IN 46635
Visitation
SaturdayJune 20, 2015
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM
St. Therese, Little Flower Catholic Church
54191 Ironwood Road
South Bend, IN 46635
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