Thomas Patrick McCloskey

Thomas Patrick McCloskey, 70, a retired New York State Attorney and a long-time resident of the Village of Lloyd Harbor in the Town of Huntington, NY, suddenly passed in his Arlington, Virginia, home on Thursday, April 28th, 2016. He also was a long-time parishioner of St. Patrick Church.

In 1955, Tom and his family moved from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Rosedale, New York, were he attended St. Clare’s Grammar School and was introduced to a game he loved, basketball. Attending Archbishop Molloy High School, where he excelled as a student, Tom played two sports: baseball and basketball. In his senior year, legendary coach Jack Curran personally asked him to come out for the baseball team as their catcher. In 1963, the Stanners won the city championship in baseball with Tom batting in the clean-up spot, giving Jack Curran his first city title. After high school, Tom enrolled at Fairfield University, where again he excelled as a student and met the love of his life, Nancy Babacz, whom he married in 1970.

Inspired by a movie he watched in high school, “The Young Philadelphians,” Tom pursued a career in the law and matriculated at New York Law School, where he again distinguished himself as a student. Passing the bar exam on his first try, Tom took a position with the Legal Aide Society; then in 1973, was sworn in as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County under Thomas J. Mackell. After serving as assistant chief of the homicide bureau, Tom left the Queens District Attorney’s Office and took a position with John Keenan at the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Corruption and then moved on to private practice with the Aliazzo Law Firm in Ozone Park, New York. In 1984 Tom became a partner with his best friend from the Queens District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, Ron Aliazzo, a partnership that lasted till 1998 when Ron passed. After Ron’s death Tom continued his practice until he retired several years ago.

Tom was considered by many to be a brilliant lawyer and one of the best trial attorneys in Queens County. He is predeceased by his father (Edward T. McCloskey, Sr.) and his mother (Anne Wood McCloskey). Tom is survived by his beloved wife Nancy of 46 years, his two children Meredith and Morgan, and their husbands Matthew MacVicar and Jason Cherish, two grandchildren Ryan and Maya MacVicar, who was born on April 30, 2016, to Meredith two days after Tom’s passing. Tom is also survived by two brothers Edward (Kathleen) and Daniel (Mary Beth), many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or to a charity of your choice.