The passing of Thomas M. Byrne

[Steven Hockstein]

I just heard from my friend Pat Porzio that Thomas M. Byrne, one of the charter members of ASHI, has passed away. I don't know anymore info but I thought that the readers of TIJ that knew him would like to know.

I worked as a fellow instructor at a home inspection school that Pat ran in the 1990's. Tommy taught the plumbing and heating sections. He was a pleasure to work with and was always willing to share the knowledge of his experiences.

[Jim Katen]

I just heard from my friend Pat Porzio that Thomas M. Byrne, one of the charter members of ASHI, has passed away. I don't know anymore info but I thought that the readers of TIJ that knew him would like to know.

I worked as a fellow instructor at a home inspection school that Pat ran in the 1990's. Tommy taught the plumbing and heating sections. He was a pleasure to work with and was always willing to share the knowledge of his experiences.

I'm sorry to hear that. Tommy was a real character. I remember when he, Rich Matzen, & Rob Paterkiewicz came to Portland to speak with us about forming an Oregon ASHI chapter. After our meeting, a bunch of us went out to dinner, and then out to dessert. After that we wandered around NW Portland at about 1 in the morning, walking into people's yards to point out things on the houses and discuss the finer points of NW home construction. Paterkiewicz just stood on the sidewalks, wringing his hands and begging, in his loudest stage whisper, "Ok, that's nice, guys, now please, please, stop trespassing and come back onto the sidewalk before we all get arrested."

Tommy would just respond, in his booming voice, "Hey, Rob, just relax. Nobody minds if we look at their house. It's kind of like a compliment, you know what I mean? Besides you could handle our bail, right?"

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[ghentjr]

I just heard from my friend Pat Porzio that Thomas M. Byrne, one of the charter members of ASHI, has passed away. I don't know anymore info but I thought that the readers of TIJ that knew him would like to know.

I worked as a fellow instructor at a home inspection school that Pat ran in the 1990's. Tommy taught the plumbing and heating sections. He was a pleasure to work with and was always willing to share the knowledge of his experiences.

I'm sorry to hear that. Tommy was a real character. I remember when he, Rich Matzen, & Rob Paterkiewicz came to Portland to speak with us about forming an Oregon ASHI chapter. After our meeting, a bunch of us went out to dinner, and then out to dessert. After that we wandered around NW Portland at about 1 in the morning, walking into people's yards to point out things on the houses and discuss the finer points of NW home construction. Paterkiewicz just stood on the sidewalks, wringing his hands and begging, in his loudest stage whisper, "Ok, that's nice, guys, now please, please, stop trespassing and come back onto the sidewalk before we all get arrested."

Tommy would just respond, in his booming voice, "Hey, Rob, just relax. Nobody minds if we look at their house. It's kind of like a compliment, you know what I mean? Besides you could handle our bail, right?"

- Jim Katen, Oregon

Classic Tommy.

[ghentjr]

The Wake is Thursday 2-5 in the afternoon and 7-10 in the evening. Funeral Friday 11 am. Service is at the funeral home.

Below is the Funeral Home info.

O'Connor's Funeral Home

718-634-4011

9105 Beach Channel Dr

Far Rockaway, NY 11693