Thomas Martin Doyle, Sr

Municipal Finance Expert

Thomas Martin Doyle, Sr, 89, of Milford, died after a short illness at the Carolton Chronic and Convalescent Hospital February 3, surrounded by his family. He was born in Bridgeport to Alice Fenton Doyle and John Clark Doyle.

Mr Doyle is survived by four children, Thomas Martin Doyle, Jr, and his wife, Susan Randle Doyle, of Sandy Hook, Kevin John Doyle and his wife, Pearl Granat, of New York City, Mary Ann Doyle and her husband, Steven Froot, of Riverdale, N.Y., Michael McGuinness Doyle and his wife, Aileen Valdez Doyle, of Seymour; six grandchildren, Eireann Doyle Aucoin and her husband, Andrew Aucoin, Kevin John Doyle, Jr, Maylene Enriquez, Michael Valdez Doyle, Daniel Doyle Froot, and Marisol Caitlin Doyle; a great-grandchild, Karina Rivera; and many nieces and nephews. His loving wife of 63 years, Winifred Mary McGuinness Doyle; his brothers John and Anthony; and his sister Mary Elizabeth predeceased Mr Doyle.

Mr Doyle attended Saint Augustine Grammar School and Central High School in Bridgeport and served in the Army and Army Air Corps 1940 to 1945.

 He returned to Bridgeport after the war, operating the Margaret Doyle Bake Shop with his family. During that time, he attended the University of Bridgeport on the GI Bill, and received his bachelor’s degree in accounting.

He was appointed assistant city treasurer of Bridgeport by Mayor Samuel Tedesco in 1957, and in 1965 he was appointed the city’s comptroller by Mayor Hugh Curran. An early advocate for the computerization of fiscal systems, Mr Doyle was instrumental in implementing the city’s electronic financial recordkeeping system. He served on the Board of the Bridgeport Municipal Employees Credit Union and directed its operation from 1968 to 1972.

In 1972, Mr. Doyle was appointed director of finance for New Britain, a position he held for 15 years. Upon retirement, the New Britain Herald stated, “He helped keep a steady hand on the wheel during a tremulous decade and a half... he can leave his office with a sense of pride and accomplishment and a city’s gratitude.” Mr Doyle was an active member of the Government Finance Officers Association, and received numerous honors and awards from Bridgeport, New Britain, and the State of Connecticut.

 Funeral services were held on February 7 from the Redgate-Hennessy Funeral Home, Trumbull, and in St Augustine Cathedral with a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment with full military honors followed in St Michael Cemetery, Stratford.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation  (JDRF), 200 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 5H, Norwalk CT 06854; or the American Lung Association, 45 Ash Street, East Hartford CT 06108-3272.

The Newtown Bee        February 8, 2008