WWII veteran Thomas McGoldrick has died

Thomas P. McGoldrick of Moriches, a Navy veteran of World War II who served in the New York City Fire Department for 37 years, died of natural causes Sunday in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He was 84.

McGoldrick grew up and lived for many years in Rosedale, where he met and later married Arleen Reilly, who lived down the block. He and Arleen, who died in 1995, moved to Moriches in the early 1990s.

McGoldrick joined the Navy as a teenager and served in the 1944 D-Day invasion at Normandy, and also in the Pacific.

He then joined the FDNY, retiring as a lieutenant. In retirement, he spent many days playing golf, including in such places as Ireland and Hawaii.

McGoldrick is survived by his son, Thomas of Merrick; four daughters, Janet Hyland of Rockville Centre, Eileen Dolan of Floral Park, Marianne Driscoll of Merrick, and Geralyn Becker of Lynbrook; a brother, William of Lynbrook; a sister, Julia Martin of Naples, Fla.; and 12 grandchildren.

Visiting will be Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the William E. Law Funeral Home in Massapequa. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. at Cure of Ars Roman Catholic Church in Merrick. Burial will be at Calverton National Cemetery.