Committal Service with Military Honors
Lt. Charles T. Mahoney, CFD, Ret.
Friday, December 30, 2011 following 8:45am funeral at Carpenter-Jenks Funeral Home and 10:00am service in St. David’s on the Hill Episcopal Church
(Section 72 Lot 4 Grave 1)
Cranston – Charles T. Mahoney, Lt. CFD, Ret., 90, of Belmont Road., died Saturday, December 24, 2011 at Greenwich Farms, Warwick. He was the beloved husband of the late Shirley B. (Reid) Mahoney.
A lifelong resident of Cranston, he was a son of the late Thomas and Louise (Arnold) Mahoney. After graduating from Cranston High School, Charlie worked as a machinist at Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing before serving in the United States Navy during World War II aboard the USS Missouri. During his tour of duty on the USS Missouri, he was part of the crew that put the “Mighty Mo” into commission at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. While serving on the Missouri, he and his fellow crewmembers shot down twelve Japanese planes, bombarded airfields and took part in the battles at Hiroshima and Okinawa. Charlie was onboard ship while docked in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945 when General Douglas MacArthur and Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz were there to accept Japan’s unconditional surrender that brought the war to a close.
He served on the Cranston Fire Department from 1949-1973. During his years with the CFD, Charlie battled his share of big fires including those at the Country Store on Rolfe Street, Atlantic Tubing on Mill Street and the A&P Warehouse on Cranston Street. As a firefighter, Charlie was very active with the Department’s sports teams including softball, hockey and bowling. While on the Department, Charlie maintained a second job driving a catering truck on his days off. He eventually purchased the business, operating for 25 years as Mahoney Catering.
Playing golf on a regular basis, he was a long-time member of the North Kingstown Municipal Golf Course. Involved in sports all of his life, Charlie always had played softball and even up until five years ago he weekly teed off on Thursdays; and other days of the week he could be found at the Cranston YMCA swimming and exercising. He was a member of St. David’s on the Hill Episcopal Church, Cranston, a member of the USS Missouri Association and the Cranston Retired Firefighters Association.
He is survived by his two daughters, Jane L. Grayhurst of Narragansett and Marsha L. Thornburg of Poinciana, FL; his son, Capt. David C. Mahoney, WFD and his wife Cindy of Glocester and Papa to his grandchildren, Jon, Merissa and Ardriana. He was the brother of the late Raymond W. Mahoney.
His funeral will be held on Friday, December 30, at 8:45 AM from Carpenter-Jenks Funeral Home & Crematory, 659 East Greenwich Avenue, West Warwick followed by a service in St. David’s on the Hill Episcopal Church, 200 Meshanticut Valley Parkway, Cranston at 10. Calling hours will be held on Thursday from 4–7 PM. Burial with military honors will be in Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery, North Kingstown. Memorial gifts may be made to Beacon Hospice, 1130 Ten Rod Rd., Suite C104, North Kingstown, RI 02852 or to St. David’s on the Hill Episcopal Church.
