In Memory of Dr. W. Thomas McGrath

According to the Daily Sentinel of Nacogdoches, Texas, "Memorial services for Dr. William Thomas "Tom" McGrath, retired professor of forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 13, at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Tom's cousin, the Reverend Robb Lapp, of Denver, Colorado, and the Reverend Steve Newton will officiate. Tom had resided in Nacogdoches since 1969. He was born on February 27, 1933 in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he graduated from high school. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Montana and went on to earn his Ph.D. in plant pathology from the University of Wisconsin. Tom was a rugged outdoorsman and lived a very adventurous life. He lived abroad in Italy, New Zealand and Australia in his youth and served as an interim professor for six months in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1991. Tom's real passion was smoke jumping. He joined the National Smokejumpers Association (NSA) in 1957. He spent most summers in Montana smoke jumping, participating in trail crews, or simply enjoying the great outdoors. Tom also loved flying and held a pilot's license for more than fifty years. Tom will be remembered for his candid honesty, integrity, and wit. Surviving are his son, Charles, of Dallas; and his sister, Sarah Aiken, of Laguna Niguel, California. Ted Dickey Funeral Home, Plano."

Dr. William Thomas "Tom" McGrath - Daily Sentinel