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Colonel Thomas J.
B. Shanley (Page 4) |
Upon retiring from the Army
in 1961, Tom Shanley accepted a position as Research & Development Project
Engineer and Program Manager at Philco-Ford (later named Ford Aerospace)
transferring from Pennsylvania to Newport Beach, California where he
served until 1968. For the next 14 years, he served on the technical staff
at Rockwell 1 Barry Albright was killed in Korea during the Korean War.
Copyright Irv Shanley, Unauthorized copying or use in any manner is
strictly prohibited – September 2004 Page 4 of 4 pages International in
Anaheim, California. From 1984 to 1988 he was the Senior Scientist at
Optical Science Company in Placentia, California and was working on a
"Star Wars" project when he retired in 1988.
Tom Shanley was always in superb physical condition during his military
career and he continued his excellent physical conditioning after he
retired. In the late 1970's, Tom and his son, Roger, made three grueling
six-week bike trips through Europe— the first brought them through France,
Belgium, and Holland touring the battlegrounds where the 508th had fought
during World War II, the second through the British Isles, and the last
through Italy and Switzerland. In 1979, at age 60, he competed in a
75-mile bike race and finished 8th in a field of 175. He was also a
marathon runner and won trophies in the over-50 and over-60 categories.
Tom Shanley married Agnes Danaher December 28, 1945 and they had three
children— Anne, Thomas, Jr., and Roger. He has always been a dedicated
family man and a devout Catholic. He sang in the church choir, painted
beautiful pastel pictures, and cooked a 'mean' steak. Tom was also a
little league coach and head umpire for many years and he taught his
children camping and woodsmanship skills. Tom played guitar by ear and
enjoyed singing operatic tunes. His dear wife, Agnes, passed away February
19, 1977. Tom remarried on June 26, 1987 to Lucille Carey. With his three
children and eight grandchildren and her four children and four
grandchildren, Tom and Lucille keep quite busy. He still enjoys playing
his guitar, singing, and walking but there are no more marathons or
hiking. The crossroads On Hill 30 in Normandy was dedicated to Colonel
Shanley in June 2003 by the good people of Picauville. The ceremony was
attended by the Mayor of Picauville, Philippe Catherine, members of the
City Council, the Military Attaché of the United States in Paris, Captain
Chester Graham representing the 508th, Colonel Shanley's wife, Lucille,
many members of the Shanley family, and the people of Picauville. Colonel
Shanley passed away January 10, 2004. |
| Copyright Irv Shanley,
Unauthorized copying or use in any manner is strictly prohibited –
September 2004 Page 4 of 5 pages Colonel Thomas J.B. Shanley By Irving T.
Shanley |
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