KILMARNOCK—Thomas Joseph McGrath Jr., 85, of Kilmarnock passed away while in hospice care in Clayton, N.C., on December 16, 2024.
He was born in Saugus, Massachusetts, on March 24,1939, the son of Thomas J. McGrath Sr. and Genevieve Hines. He attended Saugus High School, graduating in 1956. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and was stationed at Pope Air Force Base (now Pope Army Air Field @ Fort Liberty) as an Airman First-Class, 464th Supply Squadron, from 1957-1961. He went on to attend George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) Fraternity. He graduated in 1965 with a bachelor’s in economics.
He married Jo Lane Grimes in 1965 (divorced 1990) while living/working in Baltimore, Md. He started work in the retail industry for Woodward & Lothrop (Woodie’s) Department Store chain in 1967 as a warehouse manager at their M Street, Washington, D.C., location and relocated to Springfield. During a career that spanned 24 years, he rose to be the senior vice president of Distribution & Logistics before leaving the company in 1990.
He married Paula D. Spoto in 1993 (divorced in 2001). Between 1990-2002, he spent time working for various national retail chains in their executive leadership until his retirement.
He was active with Youth Travel Soccer for both the Springfield Youth Club and Braddock Road Youth Club from 1972-1990. He held various positions on the board of directors and coached numerous teams. He also enjoyed refereeing soccer. He achieved the position of Referee State Assessor for Virginia. In addition, he was assigned to referee games at the youth, high school, college and the professional level.
In 2002, he moved to Kilmarnock. In 2007, to help pass the time during his “retirement,” he went back to work when the local Walmart opened. He worked there for the next 17 years. While always a lover of German shepherds, he fostered them through Virginia German Shepherd Rescue (VGSR) based in Centerville. He adopted numerous dogs throughout the years while also fostering many others from local animal shelters around the Northern Neck/Tidewater Area. He always had five-six dogs running around his house and he valued their companionship as much as the dogs valued his unconditional love for them right up until he passed.
His parents preceded him in death.
He is survived by his ex-wives Jo Lane McGrath of Hopewell and Paula D. Spoto of Reston; his cousin, Joan Ellen McGrath of Malden, Mass.; his sister, Janice Daly of Georgetown, Mass.; along with his three sons, Thomas J. McGrath III of Ponte Vedra, Fla., Michael McGrath of Clayton, N.C., and Douglas McGrath of North Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and daughters-in laws Deborah McGrath (Thomas III), Lydia McGrath (Michael) and Christina McGrath (Douglas). He will be missed by his four grandchildren, Isabelle, Keelin, Marcella and Rory.
He will be laid to rest at a future date at the Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church Cemetery in Kilmarnock. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that a donation be made to the Virginia German Shepherd Rescue at vgsr.org.
McLaurin Funeral Home of Clayton, N.C., and Currie Funeral Home LLC of Kilmarnock handled the arrangements.
