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ATLANTA--Father Thomas Gilroy, SM, whose health had declined over the past
several weeks, died Sept. 4 in the Ashton Woods nursing facility in Atlanta. He
was 82.
A wake service was to be held Thursday, Sept. 9, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Our
Lady of the Assumption Church, Atlanta. Archbishop John F. Donoghue will
preside at the funeral Mass which will be celebrated at Our Lady of the
Assumption on Friday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in the Marist
section of Westview Cemetery.
Father Gilroy was born in Enniskillen, Ireland, April 19, 1917, to Denis and
Mary Alice Gilroy. He attended Rossdoney Public School from 1921 to 1930. He
went on to study at St. Mary's College, a high school run by the Marist Fathers
and Brothers, in Dundalk, Ireland, and studied there from 1930 to 1935. It was
here that he decided to enter religious life in the Society of Mary and study
for the priesthood.
On Sept. 21, 1941, Father Gilroy was ordained a priest by Bishop Barrett of
the Diocese of Plymouth, England.
Father Gilroy's first assignment was as a teacher at the Marist high school
in Blackburn, England. He taught mathematics and science.
In the mid-1950s the teaching ministry of the Marist Fathers and Brothers
was increasing dramatically in the U.S. New high schools opened in Detroit and
Cleveland and the school in Atlanta moved to a new campus in 1962 and continued
to grow. As a result, the Marists of the Washington Province began to seek
teachers from among the order's members in England and Ireland. Father Gilroy
responded to the call and came to America in 1958.
His first assignment, from 1958 to 1961, was teaching mathematics, science
and religion at the Marist High School Seminary in Penndel, Pa., near
Philadelphia. He then moved to Georgia where he would remain for the rest of
his life. He began with an assignment at Marist School in Atlanta, where he
remained for 22 years. Father Gilroy primarily taught math, but will also be
remembered for his meticulous care of the grounds at the Ashford-Dunwoody
campus. He served as business manager of the school from 1981 to 1984.
In the summer of 1984, at the age of 67, Father Gilroy moved to the
Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta where he served as a parochial vicar. A
second parish assignment came in 1989 when he was transferred to St. Peter's
Church in LaGrange where he served as an associate pastor for four years.
In 1993 Father Gilroy returned to live in the community of priests and
brothers at Marist School, first in semi-retirement and then, as his health
gradually declined, in full retirement. In 1997, in need of specialized
attention, he took up residence in the Ashton Woods facility not far from
Marist School.
Father Gilroy was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Brigid. He
leaves behind several nieces and a nephew.
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