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Thomas Martin Shields     August 10,1910- October 20,1987
Tom in three stages of life
Born August 10th 1910. A maternal Uncle, my mother's oldest brother (sibling). As a young man Tom had quit going to church after getting into an argument with a priest. Tom was an extremely intelligent self educated man. He never graduated High School, he had to drop out and get a job to help the family (pre 1928). I never saw him take a meal at home without a book in front of him. He was an extremely prolific reader who liked to make models. (I especially remember his collection of WWI vintage bi planes) He didn't have to serve in WWII because he was 4-F. (I don't remember why). He wasn't deployed overseas but served domestically around Washington DC (I believe) He worked as a custodian at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany from which he retired probably around 1972 to 1975. After the committing of his mother to an asylum in Poughkeepsie (1932) the Shields family was scattered. My mother ended up being raised in an boarding house/orphanage by nuns. Tommy  helped pay for her board and provided her with an allowance at Saint Johns (known as the Mount) in Rensselear. When she graduated from St Johns Academy in 1945 Tommy paid for her to attend Nursing School at St Peters Hospital from which she graduated in 1948. My mother was always grateful for his help. Latter in life Tom suffered from Pagets Disease which causes a thickening of the bones. This caused him to have trouble walking and almost constant headaches because of the skull bones thickening. While in the hospital after a stroke it took seven (my mothers version) people to lift him out of bed because the lift was broken. He had lost his ability to speak and one side was paralyzed. That's when my mother realized she wouldn't be able to care for him at her home because of his great bone weight. He died November 20th 1987 of a second stroke while still in the hospital..
	1965 with niece Susan and nephew Lou
Tom had WWI airplane models hanging from the ceiling of his attic bedroom. Tom also had a lathe and woodworking tools in the basement as well as an approximately 15' x 6' x 7' high  plywood dark room in the corner. He had two Volkswagen micro buses in the 60s, the second was a 1968. He rolled the 1968 bus on a patch of ice on the Thruway and broke his shoulder in the process. He gave away the damaged VW to his nephew Lou in 1970 who converted it to a painted hippie bus. He preferred to spend time at the Larkin over on Lark St and had no problem taking his sister Helen's car to get there for a few with his buddies. I don't remember him having his own vehicle after the VWs. I especially remember him driving Helen's Chevy Corvair or station wagon. Tom and his brother Martin (Junnie) got into some kind of argument latter in life and although they shared the house with their sister Helen they didn't have much to say to each other after that. His brother Martin claimed he fine combed his hair out, I remember him being house bound and having a barber come to the house to cut his hair. While he didn't like having long hair he liked long hair music. (Opera especially)
	About the time I was growing long hair I remember Tommy being bed ridden and having a barber come to the house on 118 Grove Ave. He was staying in the Master bedroom that his sister Helen normally used. I believe it was about 1969 or so. I think it may have been when he broke his shoulder while rolling his 1968 VW microbus. He had hit a patch of ice on the Thruway and it had rolled. The roof looked like rolling waves after that. He only had a little hair and it amused me at the time that trimming his hair meant that much to him. I don't remember him ever having a beard beard but then again I wasn't around much after going into the Navy in 1971.       Tommy had quit going to church after having a argument with a priest. He dropped out of school to work and help the family but I suspect it there may have been another clash involved. He was somewhat bull headed. He had an argument with his brother Martin (Junnie) in the mid 1980s and the two never talked much after that. His sisters Helen and Mary usually sided with Tommy and claimed he would have forgiven but Marty wouldn't. Tommy was a custodian at the Washington Avenue National Guard Armory and was the handyman around the house. Junior didn't do anything around the house and would have made a good sad sack in the army if he hadn't gotten cerebral malaria and been discharged.
Tom in St Peter's Hospital September 1986. Not sure why his stokes were in 1987
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