Obituary of Thomas O. Malz

Thomas Oscar Malz died peacefully on July 24, 2019, with his loving wife and family by his side. 

Thomas was born February 22, 1931 in New York City, to Oscar T. Malz and Louise Schroeder.  He grew up in the Bronx, along with his sisters Rita and Evelyn.  He proposed to Grace Helen Brosgul, of Brooklyn, on the fourth date, and they married on August 13, 1960.  After residing in Brooklyn for a year, they purchased a home in Merrick, New York, where they raised five children.  They lived there for 55 years until moving to East Meredith in 2016.

A high school graduate, Thomas served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War from April 11, 1951 to April 10, 1955, beginning with training at Sampson Air Force Base.  As part of his service, he took a clerk-typist course at Penn State College in 1951.  This resulted in his becoming a fast and accurate typist.  The Air Force sent him to Camp Stoneman in California and then to Johnson Air Force base in Japan.  Thomas learned some Japanese words so he could greet the locals, and in his interactions, developed a great respect for the Japanese people and their culture.

After being honorably discharged, Thomas obtained a job as a cargo handler for Pan American Airways at JFK.  He worked there from 1955 until the company’s dissolution in bankruptcy in 1991.  Early on, a photograph of Thomas was taken while he helped to move the precious cargo of a baby elephant.  While other cargo was not as thrilling, Thomas nevertheless got satisfaction from his work and enjoyed being with his co-workers.  The union-negotiated pay and benefits supported a family of seven.  He worked the morning shift so that, unless he was working overtime, he would be home when his children came home from school.  Thomas was called to jury duty in several trials, an obligation he readily accepted, especially since it came with lunch and conversation. 

After Pan Am, Thomas worked as a hall monitor at Mepham High School for twenty years, making sure the students were where they were supposed to be. Walking the halls, he picked up coins off the floor, and could not understand why the children who dropped them would just leave them there, even when he pointed it out.  When he collected enough coins, he took pleasure in purchasing flowers or cookies for the school office staff.  At home, Thomas made everyone laugh when he shuffled his feet and bent his knees, imitating the way some of the boys were walking with their pants halfway down their butts, the style of the time.  He greatly liked his job, the staff, and students. 

Other jobs included being a bottle washer/feeder at Edelbrew Brewery in 1950-51, and at Anheuser-Busch, where his Uncle Robert Malz was a foreman.  Both were in Brooklyn. 

With his wife and children, Thomas continued to regularly visit his parents and his sister Evelyn, who struggled with schizophrenia.  His life was full of communications and visits with his sister Rita, his niece Maureen and nephew Henry, his seven aunts and uncles, numerous cousins including Ann Hein Scavone, and all of their spouses and children.  The Bronx, Long Island, and Connecticut were family haunts. 

Thomas knew his Maeder Avenue neighbors and, with Grace, developed lifelong friendships.  Two of their daughters married into families on the same block.  The Malz house was always full of their children, their children’s friends, and then their grandchildren, coming and going, though sometimes too noisily while he was napping.

Thomas was the resident tooth puller, with tools of string and a door knob; and the splinter remover, with tools of tweezers and nail clippers.  His favorite activities included fishing, playing poker, collecting stamps and pennies, weeding the front lawn by hand, reading books about Native Americans, and wishfully scratching and cashing in lottery tickets.  His favorite beer was Ballantine Ale. 

Thomas is survived by his wife; his five children, Joan (Tony) Greco in East Meredith, Carol (Mike Empey) Malz in Davenport, Susan (Patrick) Mehr in Massapequa Park, Diane (Frank) Gregov in Merrick, and Thomas (Gina) Malz in East Setaucket; ten grandchildren, Sarah (Daniel) Harrington, Cate McKeating, Emily (Jerry) Boyle, Michael Meaders, Nicole Mehr, Lauren Mehr, Aleksander Gregov, Grace Gregov, Thomas Malz, and Rebecca Malz; and five great grandchildren.

He is also survived by his sister, Rita Errico in Roxbury, Connecticut; cousins, including Dorothy Msadoques in Waterbury, Connecticut and Donald Hein in Rye; and niece Maureen Andolena in Naugatuck, Connecticut.

A Catholic prayer service will be held on August 16, 2019, 12:00 pm, at the Hall & Peet Funeral Home, 134 Main Street, Delhi, with the Rev. Edward Golding. Burial with full military honors will follow in the East Meredith Cemetery.  A lunch reception will be held at the home of Grace Malz.

Thomas was always saddened by this country’s treatment of its Native Americans.  If you wish to honor Thomas, please honor Native Americans in some way.

Condolences to the Malz family may be shared online at www.macarthurfh.com