Thomas Francis Staples ‘51 died on July 23, 2012, in Gardiner, Maine.

(The following was provided by the The Kennebec Journal on July 24, 2012:)

GARDINER — Thomas Francis Staples, 84, of Gardiner, died Monday, July 23, 2012, at his home.

He was born in Gardiner on July 27, 1927, the son of Horace (Jim) F. and Katherine A. Hickey Staples. He attended Grant St. Grammar School and Gardiner High School, class of 1945. He was a Navy veteran of World War II,  a lifelong member communicant of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gardiner and had been associated in one capacity or another with Staples Funeral Home his entire life.

He was predeceased by his first wife, Elizabeth MacLeod Staples; his parents; his daughter Cathleen A. Staples; and two sisters, Betty Ann Mullen and Peggy Blair.

Surviving relatives include his wife of more than twenty-six years, Margaret Leavitt Staples of Gardiner; three children, Ann Tessari of Gardiner, Michael F. Staples of Augusta, and Patrick F. Staples of Gardiner; seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, a nephew, three nieces and several cousins.