Thomas LeRoy Loren

Thomas (Tom) LeRoy Loren of Manassas, VA formerly from South Glens Falls and Cambridge, NY passed away peacefully at home on December 18, 2020 with his wife of 61 years, Mary Rooney Loren by his bedside. Tom was born in Cambridge, NY on January 8, 1935 at 7:42pm to Erma Lillian Montgomery Loren and James LeRoy Loren. (Elvis Presley was born at 4:35am) Besides his parents he was predeceased by his eldest daughter, Mary-Teresa Loren Reffue on February 23, 2017 and his son-in-law Ben Gregory Binghay on December 18, 2016. He is survived by his loving wife Mary, daughters Aileen (Leonard) Zuriff; Susan Binghay and grandsons Thomas D. Reffue and Liam A. Binghay. Most people considered him a quiet gentle soul which he was until you got his Irish up. Above all he was a loving husband, loving father to his three daughters and loving Granda to his two grandsons. He trudged through snow many times to get Christmas gifts for his daughters. Liam's birth and helping care for him gave Tom a new lease on life and he loved every minute of it. Tom grew up in the idyllic village of Cambridge where his grandfather James Loren and uncle Johnny Lourin served as Fire Chiefs. Norman Rockwell lived in Arlington, Vt and chose many people from the village as models for his famous paintings. Grandma Moses lived a short distance south in Buskirk. Several homes in the village were used in the Underground railroad. Tom was a graduate of Cambridge Central School class of 1954 where he was known as Gam and for his love of cars and speed behind the wheel. He learned to drive on his father's Ford 1928 Model A which was traded when he crashed it into the garage. He kept the love of cars of all shapes and sizes throughout his life which lead to one of his most enjoyable pastimes, attending Antique Car shows and the restoration of a 1929 Model A Fordor, with the great help of dear friends Gail and Jim Barody. Following high school he went to work for the Associated Seed Company in Cambridge, where his Dad was Traffic Manager It was there he honed his solid work ethic and many skills from printing seed packets, measuring and filling containers of fertilizer, truck driving to being the night watchman responsible for tending coal stoves in the various buildings for 50 cents an hour. In 1957 while he and his Mom were still trying to get over the unexpected passing of his Dad in October 1956, he was drafted into the Army even though he failed the National Guard physical because of his legs. When he was learning to walk it became evident that his legs were not as strong as they should be and it was thought he had a slight case of polio. This disability kept him from participating in sports. In April 1958 while he was stationed at Fort Meade, MD he met the love of his life, Mary Rooney, an Irish immigrant, on a blind date and they were married by the Rev. Paul K. Lynch in St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cambridge on August 22, 1959. In October of 1961 as a Reservist he was recalled into the Army and stationed at Fort Devens, MA until August 1962 when he returned to Cambridge and resumed his employment at the now named Asgrow Seed Company. In October of 1962, Tom began an internship in Glens Falls as an Office Machine Repairman with R.G. Landry and he and Mary moved north to South Glens Falls. Almost every weekend they visited Tom's mother for Sunday dinner. In that position he traveled all over the Adirondacks delivering and repairing machines for businesses and especially summer camps. He had to lift heavy cash registers which was hard for him. When his internship ended he applied to Glencraft Printing Company and after he assured Herb the Foreman that he wasn't afraid of the big press, he hired him and thus began his Offset Pressman career. In 1969 he joined Rist-Frost Consulting Engineers as their In-House Pressman until his retirement on June 12, 1990. In April 1965 Tom, Mary and Mary-Teresa made their first family trip back to Mary's parents and family in Ireland and Tom loved it and being part of a big family. He loved going to the Pub with his father-in-law and there were many such trips over the years. In 1969 after Tom suffered a fracture in his left leg following one of his numerous falls, he finally got an answer to why his legs were weak. He had Limb/Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. It did not keep him from living a full life and working very hard to provide for his family. In July 1994 a fall which resulted in a broken right ankle left him using a wheel chair and scooter to get around from then on. He and Mary lived in South Glens Falls until August, 2000 when they moved to Manassas, VA to be near their youngest daughter Susan and for a shorter trip to Tampa, FL where their daughter Mary-Teresa Reffue, husband John and grandson Thomas resided. Their daughter Aileen and husband Lenny Zuriff were soon to move to New Jersey and later to Tampa, FL. Tom had many hobbies among them were: genealogy; refinishing furniture; caning chairs; finishing off the second story of their first home; working on their new home in the village of So. Glens Falls and helping design their fully wheel-chair accessible retirement home in Manassas. He embraced the computer and taught himself how to use the internet and could find any information you needed. He supported Mary in her pursuit of learning from her preparation for U.S. Citizenship to her advanced college degree work. He was a past member of the Glens Falls Ancient Order of Hibernians and was Hibernian of the Year in 1977. He represented the Chapter at their 1978 National Convention held in Killarney, Ireland. He was a member since 2000 of the Bull Run Region Antique Automobile Club of America and a thirty-five year member of the Model A Restorers Club and past member of the Adirondack “A's” and Cooper's Cave Car Clubs. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, January 2, 2021 at 12:00 Noon at All Saints Catholic Church, 9300 Stonewall Road, Manassas, Virginia. Interment will be private. The mass will be live streamed at https://youtu.be/iLA1oyBbjYM In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Muscular Dystrophy Association, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3550, Chicago, IL 60601 or MDA.org – Donate.

Thomas LeRoy Loren

January 8, 1935 - December 18, 2020