Mr. Thomas A. Grogan, 89 passed away at Community Hospice in Jacksonville on Friday, May 4, 2012 following an extended illness. He was born on September 5, 1922 in Vandergrift, a small steel town in Western Pennsylvania, northeast of Pittsburgh. He attended local public schools and graduated from the University of Pittsburg in 1942, with the highest honors. During World War II, he served as a Naval Aviation Supply Officer aboard the USS Norton Sound, a large seaplane tender, and at the Naval Aviation Supply Depot in Philadelphia. Mr. Grogan worked for 3 years for an investment banking firm in Wall Street and served 37 years with the McGraw-Hill Companies in a variety of capacities, the longest and most recent as Director of Planning and Development, and Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. He retired in 1985 and moved to Green Valley, Arizona after having lived in Garden City, New York for 22 years. He was a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Business and in 1949, received a MBA degree from the New York University Graduate School of Business. He was chairman of the Board of Directors (1980-1983) of the Information Industry Association, a trade association of companies providing information services of the Society of Technical Writers and Publishers and a member of the Board of Trustees of Engineering Index (1972-1981). He attended Our Lady of the Valley Church in Green Valley where he served as chairman of the Parish Expansion Committee and as Parish Representative during 9 months of the construction of the new church. He was also a past president of the Desert Hills Golf Club and President of the Desert Hills Estates Homeowners Association. He is survived by his wife, Betty, whom he married in 1957, and 6 children: Thomas, Jr. in Fleming Island, Fl.; Patricia Conway, Massapequa Park, NY.; William in Franklin Square, NY.; Mary Bilardello in Seaford, NY.; Michael in Tucson, AZ.; and Nancy Sturm in Bethlehem, PA., as well as 14 Grandchildren. Viewing for Mr. Grogan will be held on Monday, May 7, 2012 from 7-9 p.m. in the HELM-GALLAGHER Funeral Home Chapel. Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church with Father Donal Sullivan and Father Robert Rene presiding. Burial will be held at a later date at the Arlington National Cemetery.Arrangements are under the care of HELM-GALLAGHER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICES, 1811 Idlewild Ave. Green Cove Springs, FL 32043. 904-284-9696. www.helmgallagherfh.com hide