Another Good Man Gone

[unhappycamper]

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonherald/obituary.aspx?n=anthony-f-flaherty-tony&pid=175293259&fhid=25375

Anthony F. "Tony" Flaherty



Tony getting arrested with 17 others on Veteran's Day, 2007

FLAHERTY Anthony F. “Tony” Flaherty, 84, of South Boston, died following a brief illness on July 13, 2015. Tony was a retired Naval Officer with more than 26 years of service to our country. He was a civic activist who, as a member of Veterans for Peace, advocated for an end to hatred, violence and war. Father of Paul Flaherty and wife Barbara of SC, Colin Flaherty of Boston, Barry Flaherty and wife Susan of NC, Ellen Flaherty Shatwells of TX, and Kathryn Flaherty Robichau of Marshfield. Brother of Kathleen Flaherty of South Boston and the late Barbara Adams. Also survived by his long-time loving companion Barbara Kenney of Centerville, seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren and many close friends and family including John Lipton of Boston. Visiting Hours from 3:00P.M.-6:00 P.M. Friday July 17 at the Hamel, Wickens & Troupe Funeral Home, 26 Adams Street, QUINCY CENTER. Immediately following the visitation, relatives and friends will gather at the Neighborhood Club of Quincy located nearby at 27 Glendale Road, Quincy, for a service of remembrance, after which all will be invited to enjoy a time of fellowship and refreshment. Funeral and burial details are private. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions in Tony’s memory be made to the following Catholic charity: Agape Community, 2062 Greenwich Rd, Ware, MA 01082 Hamel, Wickens & Troupe hamelfuneralcare.com

--

Tony was an amazing man.

I first met him in March 2004 when I went to a rally on Boston Common protesting dubya's Iraq Adventure. IIRC it was kinda coolish and we were still wearing winter coats. Howard Zinn was one of the speakers. A bunch of guys standing behind this banner caught my attention:



I distinctly remember Tony - he was wearing a Tirolean Hat (I haven't seen one of these since I left Germany in 1973).

I'd like to share a Tony Flaherty story with you:

Last year Tony was having problems with his appetite and sleeping. I had just received both my Mass Medical Marijuana card and was trying different 'flavors' to determine was worked best for back (and brain) pain. At the time I had Girl Scout Cookies and two flavors of Kush.

I go down to a local head shop near Kenmore Sq and pick up a vaporizer and I'm off to Tony's place. I'm explaining how the vaporizer works when his sister (Katy) walks in. I fire the vap up and put in a pinch of Girl Scout Cookies - Tony takes a hit and is wearing a really stupid grin inside of a minute. Katy's looking at Tony's grin and I asked her if she wanted to try. "Yup" she says. Five minutes later both of them are grinning like fools. GSC helped Tony to sleep the last year of his life.

RIP Tony, I'm gonna miss you.

[Scuba]

1. K&R

[mountain grammy]

2. Rest in peace, Tony Flaherty

and thank you for your service, both in and out of the military.

[daleanime]

3. ........

[sarge43]

4. Peaceful passage, soldier, and thank you

[MissDeeds]

5. What an amazing man

Thanks for sharing his story with us.

[Enthusiast]

6. Kicked and recommended to the Max!

[d_legendary1]

7. ....

[wicket]

8. RIP

[Roy Rolling]

9. Veterans for Peace

It was Veterans who demonstrated for peace in the Vietnam War era that made the difference for me and many others. It turned a bunch of hippie demonstrators, who were derided by everyone as un-American, into allies with actual Vietnam military veterans.

Next to John Lennon, it was the most powerful cultural push to end that insane war.

Hats off to Tony and the thousands of other Tonys who deserve our respect. It takes a special type of hero to actually understand the freedoms in America they are fighting for.

[merrily]

10. And he still fit into his uniform! A slender Korean war vet used to wear his around

my neighborhood, but he has been gone for a number of years now. He and his wife and their puppy, all very petite, were one of the cutest families I've ever seen.

Unhappy camper, I am so sorry for your loss. You've made Tony real to DU. I bet it felt great to come up with the just the right medicine to relieve his pain and allow him to sleep. What a moment that must have been.

I thank Tony for his service, especially his service as a Veteran for Peace; and I thank you for this essay about him. You made his life richer and ours, too.

[raouldukelives]

11. ..

[LoisB]

12. RIP, Mr. Flaherty.

[niyad]

13. requiescat in pace

[DashOneBravo]

14. Rest in peace sir

I am sorry for your loss

[marym625]

15. K&R!

[MADem]

16. A rather touching Globe article from 2008

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/06/casualty_of_war/

Casualty of war
Email|Print| Text size – + By Kevin Cullen
Globe Columnist / March 6, 2008

There was a time, back in the 1950s, when they were in the Navy together, that Tony Flaherty and Wacko Hurley were the best of friends.

When they got back to South Boston, the place where they were born and where they remain, they drank together at the old Chiefs club, a sailors' hangout on Summer Street.

When Flaherty got married at St. Augustine's, Hurley stood at the altar with him, his best man. When Flaherty's first child was born, Hurley was godfather.

But something happened. Wacko Hurley went back to civilian life. Tony Flaherty, a career Navy man, went off to war, this time in Vietnam, and he came back a changed man. One day, he was walking down a dirt road, as a gaggle of Vietnamese kids straggled by, fleeing a village destroyed by American fire.

"One of the kids, a boy, had lost a leg," Tony Flaherty was saying, sitting in his apartment on East Broadway. "I had an epiphany that day."....

[raven mad]

17. Sometimes a loss leaves a void - a null, if you will.

His won't. It sounds as if he filled up everything with a zest and love of life. Thanks for sharing - Veterans for Peace is one of my favorite activist groups.