Thomas Hannon

Dr. Thomas Joseph Hannon Jr., 78, of Slippery Rock, Butler County, passed away at 1:18 p.m. Saturday at Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Butler.

He was born June 10, 1936, in Scranton, Lackawanna County, to the late Thomas Joseph Hannon Sr. and Lillian Gallagher Hannon.

He married Catherine Eleanor Parke July 25, 1959, and she preceded him in death Jan. 6, 2013.

He was a Korean War veteran and was honorably discharged in 1962.

He was a member of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church in Slippery Rock, where he had served as a Eucharistic minister. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Mansfield State College in 1958, his MS Degree from Penn State and his Ph.D at The University of Pittsburgh.

He became an associate professor at Slippery Rock University in 1970 and a full professor in 1986 in the geography department. He retired in 2004 after 34 years of service. He was teaching at the Institute of Lifelong Learning in Slippery Rock and was well-known in the area for his knowledge of genealogy and tombstone geography.

He was an active member and former president of the Butler County Historical Society and a former member of Slippery Rock Borough Council and had served on the Slippery Rock Zoning Commission.

Survivors include his two daughters, Margaret A. Hannon-Sellers (Jimmy) of McKees Rocks and Dr. Marilyn Hannon Sain (Sergio) of Millstone Township, N.J.; his son, Timothy James Hannon (Jeanette) of Erie, and five grandchildren, David Abelson, Timothy J. Hannon Jr., Liam Patrick Hannon, Tessa Marie Sain and Andrew Thomas Sain.

In addition to his parents and his wife, he was preceded in death by his sister, Marilyn A. McAuvic.

Hannon — Friends of Dr. Thomas Joseph Hannon Jr., who passed away Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, will be received from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Smith Funeral Home, 421 New Castle St., Slippery Rock.A Mass of Christian burial will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, 670 S. Main St., Slippery Rock, with Father Kevin Poecking, pastor of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, officiating. Interment will follow at St. Anthony Cemetery, Harrisville.Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.