Thomas E. Squires
May 9, 2003
Dr. Thomas E. Squires, 66, husband of Jane (Buchanan) ,Squires, of Rockport,
died Wednesday, May 7, at his residence due to an
inoperable brain tumor.
Dr. Squires was born July 16, 1936, in New Britain, Conn., son of the late
Edward, C. and Mary A.C. (Ryan) Squires. He
had lived in Rockport since 1962.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served as a captain from 1962
to 1964.
His family reports that he was modest about his
academic achievements, not often mentioning
his honor graduations from Notre Dame High
School, Fairfield University and,
Tufts Dental School.
He spent many years teaching
diagnostic dentistry at Harvard Dental School.
He never had his diplomas framed and
hung, causing many to speculate he wasn't a D.M.D. at
all, but maybe an escaped comic from the Catskills.
Dr. Squires had a good sense of humor, frequently entertaining patients with his
"bad jokes." Rather than wincing in pain, they
winced at his jokes. It caused one patient to say,
"It's not so much a visit to the dentist, as it is a 'trip'."
His was a relaxed, comfortable and slightly eccentric
office. He was a Santa look-alike
and played it every year, hat on head, bell in hand. Also,
he was the leprechaun who
thought nothing of dying his beard
green on St. Patrick's Day, the Bon Vivant straw-hatted, tooling around
town in that little car.
When not bantering, with patients, Dr. Squires
enjoyed flying small planes, circling Cape Ann,
"getting the big picture." To him, "life is not
a root canal."
He also enjoyed his Saturday morning
breakfast club with a group
of friends who resembled the
"Rowdy Boys" but were all community
leaders. He also enjoyed his
"Champagne Sundays" at Bananas
and "Sunday Cigars", where the Rowdy Boys indulged in cigars and brandy at
bachelor Dr. Russ Sandfield's house.
In addition to his wife of 40 years, Dr. Squires is survived
by a son and daughter-in law, Chase and
Saralee Squires of Zephyrhills,
Florida; a daughter, Gia Squires of New Orleans, La.; two brothers and
sisters-in-law, Ted and Samantha Squires
and John and Vicki Squires, all
California; a sister-in-law,
Elaine Buchanan and life partner Albert Natale,
of Boston; and many nieces and
nephews.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated St.
Joachim's Church tomorrow at
10 a.m. Visiting hours will be held in the
Burgess and Mackey Funeral Home,
201 Main St., Rockport, today from 4 to 8 P.m.
Relatives and friends are cordially
invited to attend.
The burial will be held privately.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his
name to The Visiting Nurses Association, 8 Angle St., Gloucester, Mass., 01930
or to VNA Hospice Care, 5 Federal
St, Danvers, Mass., 01923.
The Burgess & Mackey Funeral Home is in charge of
arrangements
