I'm very sad to report that Tom Maher–my dear friend, mentor andformer NU managing editor–passed away on Feb. 13 at the age of 77.I took over Tom's position in 1986 when he left to pursue a secondcareer as a freelance writer and marketing consultant. I wouldnever have been promoted without Toms support and mentoring, and weremained close friends for over 26 years, swapping stories aboutbaseball and insurance with equal enthusiasm. Read on to learn moreabout this remarkable person, and feel free to join other friendsand former colleagues in reminiscing in the comment sectionbelow.

Tom Maher was the first to greet me when I joined NationalUnderwriter back in 1981, offering to clue me in on the real storybehind the scenes in the industry and our company over beers atMacks & Jacks, the local watering hole.

Working with Tom and the gang back then was like stepping ontothe set of The Front Page, the play and movie about classicnewspapermencynical about authority and dedicated to exposingshenanigans large and small. Tom was a real character, as well as agentleman of extraordinary character.

Tom, a dead ringer for actor William Devane, was a stand-up guywho would do anything for a friend. He was old schoolalways puttingin an honest days work, and respectful of anyone who did thesame.

Tom was also a riot. His humormost often self-deprecatingwassarcastic but never mean-spirited. While he did not suffer foolsgladly, he reserved his rapier wit to skewer those who had itcomingquick to puncture the hypocrisy of blowhards, whether in thegovernment, the industry or our own magazine.

Tom was a dandy middle infielder in his youth who confessed helacked a major league arm, but there was never anything minorleague about his ability to pitch a story.

Our longtime Marketing Scene columnist was the expert on life inthe mythical kingdom of what he liked to call Insurancedom,reporting on how the industry spun its message. His funny andinsightful commentary was often worth the price of an NUsubscription by itself.

He was kind to a fault, always decent, ever caring, and readywith whatever you needed–whether it was career advice or just abiting joke to lighten your mood. He was also a devoted family man,leaving behind a wonderful wife, Kathleen, and three greatkids–Tommy, Kathryn and Shawn–and six grandchildren who thought ofhim as “Mr. Met.”

(Raised in Chicago as a diehard Cubs fan, he reconciled himselfto Mets fandom with his long life in New York–although I imaginehis only regret is perhaps not seeing the Cubs win a World Series.In an ironic twist he would have greatly appreciated, his funeraltook place at Shea Place in New Rochelle, quite appropriate givenall the happy times he spent at Shea Stadium.)

When I posted my Ode To John Cosgrove, a former NU editor, acouple of years back, Tom Maher noted that while we mourn those whohave passed on, we especially remember those who left us laughing.He could just as easily have been talking about himself.

To reminisce further about Tom Maher, feel free to join otherfriends and former colleagues in posting your thoughts on thecomments section below.