Thomas P. Duffy, Jr.

Mr. Thomas P. Duffy, Jr., of Waltham, died Tuesday, December 12, 2023 in Meadow Green Nursing Home. He was 87.

Born in Winthrop on October 5, 1936, Tom was a son of Irish natives, the late Thomas P. and Marie (Keaveney) Duffy. He moved to Waltham at the age of ten when his father was transferred to open the first Army Recruitment station in Waltham. He graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind before spending six years at Boston University, earning both a B.S. and an Ed.M. He majored in vocational rehabilitation and school psychology and received a state license as a psychologist when said licensing began ten years later. Thomas worked for various state agencies for more than twenty years.

He was always fond of travel and history and was a life member of the Waltham Historical Society. Back in the 50's he joined a Boston Harbor group headed by Edward Rowe Snow which was the first to promote the resources of the Harbor. As a train fan he was for the past thirty years a member of the Mystic Valley Railway Society which seeks to promote rail travel. He traveled across the U.S. and Canada but his favorite destinations were always New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Bar Harbor was always his favorite vacation destination.

He contributed to numerous groups and served in various capacities in several organizations. He was an active member of the Perkins Alumni Association for decades and for several years was the Editor of a newsletter produced by and for the National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts. He gave gifts to Perkins and to the Seeing Eye of Morristown, New Jersey.

He leaves his brother, James P. Duffy, of Framingham, his sister, Rosemarie Wosewick of Fort Bragg, California and many nieces and nephews.  

He was also the dear friend of the late Mary A. Lareau.

Family and friends will honor and remember Tom's life by gathering to visit on Saturday, December 16^th from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. followed by his funeral service at 12 noon. Burial will follow in Saint Mary’s Cemetery, 57 Wellesley Avenue, Needham.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Waltham Historical Society, 190 Moody Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453.