Thomas Lawrence McMahon

1926 - 1994  (68 years)

• Name	Thomas Lawrence McMahon
  Birth	3 Jan 1926
  Gender	Male
  Death	4 Jun 1994
  Person ID	I86216	Stewartsny
  Last Modified	2 Dec 2025

  
  

  Family	Rita Lehman
  Children	1. Patrick McMahon  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F31127	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Dec 2025

  
  

• Notes

  Thomas was born at home at 1963 west 57th street in Cleveland Ohio. His father Richard was born in county Meath Ireland and his mother Mary Terry was born in Kent Ohio. Thomas was baptized at Saint Stephens church on west 54th street in Cleveland Ohio. Thomas had four siblings Donald, John, Rita, and Edwin. His brother John died at the age of ten months. Tommy's mother and grandmother Margaret Sullivan Terry died of pneumonia only three hours apart in 1928. His brothers Donald and Edwin went to Parma Dale, a boy's home. Rita and Tommy went to live with the Keller family on west 54th street right across from Saint Stephens church. When Tommy turned five years old he went to Parma Dale to be with his brothers. Rita stayed with the Keller family. In the 1930 census all the boys in Parma Dale were listed as inmates. Richard married Mrs. Keller's sister Francis Kramer at Saint Stephens church in 1933. Together again and living on west 50th street only a block from Saint Stephens. The boy's spent many hot summer day's working in a very large garden that was on an empty lot next to the house . Before the war he worked as a mailman and a baker. He told me about dogs chasing him for a mile when delivering mail on west 130th street in Cleveland. And the large ovens were he would bake 100's of loaves of bread in a day on west 117th street in Cleveland. On the 15th of March 1944 Tommy joined the Marine corps. He was able to spend some time with his sister in San Diego before he shipped out to the south Pacific. Rita was in the Army air corp. He was wounded at the battle of Okinawa. Later he was part of the occupation of Japan. He was able to get a discharge from the Marines on the 27th of July 1946 after finding out his father was dying. Tommy was a Merchant Marine, and then drove a taxi after the war, then he joined the bricklayers union. In 1956 he was appointed recording secretary of the bricklayers union. In 1957 Tommy married Rita Lehman at Saint Patrick's church, she lived next to his brother Edwin, on west 41st street. Rita and Tommy had four children Dennis, Mary, Maureen, and Patrick. Tommy retired from the bricklayers in 1982.