Tom was born on Aug. 17, 1927 in the Village of North Dighton, in the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, a son of Thomas J. and Bernice M. (Kiernan) Reagan.
He grew up in the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts, and attended schools there until entering the U.S. Navy in 1944. He served in the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters and spent most of his time in the Philippines. Upon discharge he was awarded the Philippine Liberation medal.
He attended Newman Prep School in Boston, Massachusetts and then was employed by Dun & Bradstreet as a financial and credit investigator and reporter. He then attended Portland University Law School in Portland, graduating in 1951.
On Sept. 11, 1948, he married Elizabeth Lee LaFountain and they raised five children together.
Mr. Reagan was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1951 and practiced law for 52 years. In 2002, he was presented a life membership in the Maine State Bar Association. In 1959, he was appointed by the late Gov. Edmund S. Muskie to be judge of the Kennebunk Municipal Court, which was superseded by the district court system years later.
In addition, he was a member of the Webber Lefbvre American Legion Post in Kennebunk and the Kennebunk Rotary Club, of which he served as vice president and president. He also served as president of the first Parish Council of St. Martha’s Parish in Kennebunk.
For 26 years he served as a trustee of the Kennebunk Sewer District, the last 13 years as chairman of the board. He helped organize the Animal Welfare Society and served as a trustee and attorney of the society for many years. He also helped to organize the Senior Center at Lower Village and served as a trustee and two terms as president of the board.
He enjoyed sailing, and raced his sloop in the MORC races with his sons for several years. In addition, he was an avid fly fisherman and belonged to the Shy Beaver Trout Pond Club in Hollis, and fished at camps in Maine with his fishing companion, Bill Gilpatric. He also participated in golf tournaments as a member of the Webhannet Golf Club and on July 4, 1990, while playing with his son Tom and others, he hit a hole-inone on the fifth green at the club.
He led a full, rich life and will be missed by many.
Tom is preceded in death by: his wife, Elizabeth Lee (LaFountain) Reagan, who died in 2011; his parents; and a sister, Nancy McCann.
Tom is survived by: his five children, Catherine L. Reagan of Kennebunk, Thomas J. Reagan III (Wendy) of Kennebunk, Christopher Reagan (Marian) of Kennebunkport, Mary Elizabeth Hamilton (Gregory) of Ferrisburgh, Vermont, and Rebecca R. Mankin and “daughter” Towanna Hawkins (Edward) of Brooklyn, New York; seven grandchildren, Kathryn Mooney (Brock), Sarah Auer (Matthew), Zachary Reagan (Sofia), Lillian and Isabel Hamilton, Thomas Henry Reagan, and Patricia Mankin; four great-grandchildren, Lucelia, Carly, Mary Elizabeth Mooney, and William T. Auer; two sisters, Anita Gamache of Lakeville, Massachusetts, and Carole Reagan of Dartmouth, Massachusetts; and a brother, David Reagan of Lakeville, Massachusetts.
Visiting hours will be on Friday, Aug. 28 from 4-7 p.m. at the Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. on Saturday Aug. 29 at Holy Spirit Parish Church, St. Martha Church, Portland Road, Kennebunk. Interment will be at St Mary’s Cemetery Biddeford.
Should friends desire, memorial donations may be made to the Animal Welfare Society, P.O. Box 43, West Kennebunk, ME 04094 in Tom’s memory.
Arrangements are in care of Bibber Memorial Chapel, 67 Summer St., Kennebunk, ME 04043.
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