Thomas Aloysius Walrath ’49

Integrity, compassion, and determination filled every fiber of Tom Walrath's being, and when he succumbed to cancer at his home in Wellsboro, Penn., on May 15, 1989, this friendly fighter had outlived the best odds doctors had given him.

Tom was born on Aug. 31, 1921, and attended St. Joseph's Preparatory High School in Philadelphia. He first came to Princeton in 1942 in the Army Specialized Training Program, and then served in the Army in Europe from Sept. 1942 to Feb. 1946. Returning to Princeton, he majored in politics, was president of the intramural Athletic Assn., chaired the Senior Prom, and was a member of Key and Seal, the Undergraduate Council, and Whig-Clio.

Tom married Mary McCabe, of Atlantic City, on Sept. 11, 1947. In 1951, he graduated from Penn Law School. For a while, he practiced in Philadelphia and Athens, Penn., but he soon settled in Wellsboro, where he headed the firm of Walrath and Coolidge. Tom's specialty was litigation, and he often took on unpopular cases and defended underdogs. He was a former president of the Tioga County Bar Assn., a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Wellsboro, and a charter member of the local and county Knights of Columbus.

Mary died in 1986, and he is survived by their seven children, Priscilla, Christine Simonis, Mary, Thomas, Sally, Theresa, and Catherine Casiello; a brother; five sisters; and six grandchildren. Our hearts go out to all of them at the loss of this deeply caring man.

The Class of 1949