Thomas J. McCarron

Thomas J. McCarron died suddenly at home in Philadelphia on March 12, 2026.

A Philly native, Tom was born August 16, 1949 to the late Albert McCarron and the late Joan McCarron Burras (née Broadhurst).  He earned a B.A. in English (minor in French) from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Management from Columbia University, and an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Research and Administration from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.

A Renaissance man both in education and employment, Tom had a wide range of jobs.  During the Vietnam War era he served in the Air Force, stationed in Texas.  Afterwards, he worked in the boiler room of a hospital to put himself through Penn’s College of General Studies, served as a parking lot attendant, was a hotel desk clerk, taught at the Moorestown Friends School, and headed the Human Relations Department at Trenton State University.  Later he was an Instructor at West Chester University, the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, and the Community College of Philadelphia.  Above all, in his final two decades of employment he was a biostatistician for a series of Pharmaceutical Companies and Clinical Research Organizations.  He made presentations before the CDC about the efficacy of drugs whose manufacturers were seeking approval, and he met some of the foremost medical and pharmaceutical researchers in the country.  But along with these interests, he had a love of Art History and became an expert on Philadelphia architecture, giving neighborhood tours for the Foundation for Architecture and for the William Way Center.  He loved French literature and was active in a French book club.  Another passion was popular music from the 1960s and 70s.  And he retained an outrageous sense of humor.  At a meeting of the Philadelphia Chapter of Integrity (LGBT Episcopalians), he met Richard Keiser, who became his life partner and spouse for 43 years.  Besides Richard, other survivors include his siblings Douglas V. McCarron of Michigan, Joy Groth (née McCarron) of Indiana, and Laurie Burras of Philadelphia.  Many nieces and nephews also survive.

His interment at the Woodlands Cemetery in University City was private, but a celebration of his life will be announced later this year.