Thomas Mchugh Was A Singer, Storyteller And `Everyday Saint'

Thomas Shannon McHugh was "an everyday saint," says one daughter.

"He was a simple, sweet man of faith and family who followed all the rules," said Sheila McHugh Magnano of Seattle.

"He went to Mass daily. During Lent, he got the kids up to go to 7 a.m. Mass so Mom could sleep in and go to 9 a.m. Mass. And he always put out the recycling bins with the handles facing the right direction."

For 32 years, the manager of the truck division of International Harvester of Seattle just liked doing what was right, she said.

His son Mick McHugh was equally impressed with his father. The younger McHugh even named his Seattle restaurant, T.S. McHugh's Public House, after him.

Mr. McHugh died Sunday (Nov. 15) of pulmonary failure. He was 88.

Born in Seattle to philanthropists Thomas C. and Ella McHugh, he graduated from Seattle Preparatory School.

An irrepressible singer and storyteller, according to his son, he also acted and sang in St. Joseph's School and Church stage shows.

Years later "he was `discovered' by Paramount Studios when they were in Seattle searching for someone to portray an archbishop in a TV movie (`Joe: The Forgotten Kennedy')," his son said. "This role was a culmination of his lifelong love of performing."

Mr. McHugh earned a business-administration degree in 1931 at Spokane's Gonzaga University, where he was a student-body president and class valedictorian.

Back in Seattle, he went to work for International Harvester.

He also became a leader of the Irish-American community. In 1942, he was a founding member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Seattle, which supports the Archbishop of Seattle's Education Fund.

Other survivors include Mr. McHugh's daughters Maureen Martinelli of Fountain Valley, Calif., and Kathleen "Mud" McHugh of Bellevue; his sons Francis McHugh and Tucker McHugh, both of Seattle; his brothers, Nace McHugh of Seattle and and Chuck McHugh of Kirkland; his sister, Florence McHugh Daviscourt of Bellevue; and 16 grandchildren. His wife of 56 years, Alice McHugh, died in 1997.

Requiem Mass will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 732 18th Ave. E., Seattle.

Remembrances may go to the Jesuit Legacy of Care Retirement Fund, P.O. Box 4408, Portland, OR 97208; or to the T.C. and Ella McHugh Scholarship Fund, Seattle Preparatory School, 2400 11th Ave. E., Seattle, WA 98102.