Beloved Horace Mann teacher dies at 85

Thomas P. Reilly, who worked at Horace Mann for 44 years, died at St. Joseph’s Medical Center on April 27. He was 85.

Mr. Reilly retired from Horace Mann in 1996. He served as chair of the upper division foreign languages department for 32 years and worked as a foreign language teacher there for 44 years.

“Tom was not only a dedicated, skillful teacher of foreign languages, a fastidious scholar — he spoke 11 languages — but he was also … a compassionate advisor to generations of students,” Bernice Hauser, Horace Mann’s director of intercampus activities, wrote in an e-mail. 

Born in Waterbury, Conn. on July 7, 1925, Mr. Reilly attended the University of Connecticut, Middlebury College, University of Grenoble-France, Laval University, University of Mexico, Columbia University, New York University and Naugatuck High School. He served in the army during World War II. 

Mr. Reilly was an avid traveler who liked to tell stories. During his lifetime, he visited more than 150 countries and every continent. One of Mr. Reilly’s hobbies involved traveling on each of his milestone birthdays. On his 40th birthday, he traveled to Timbuktu, his 50th was celebrated on the shores of the Amazon, his 60th in Russia and his 70th birthday in Turkey. Mr. Reilly also enjoyed diverse foods, lighthouses and bridges, his nephew, Jack Rutigliano, said.

Mr. Reilly served as president of the Kingsbridge Historical Society for 13 years and was a member of the National Rail Society and Canal Society. 

Mr. Reilly is survived by his sister, Ann Rutigliano, and her husband, Frank, of Watertown, Conn., his brother, Eugene J. Reilly, of Prospect, Conn. and several nieces and nephews. Mr. Reilly was predeceased by his sister, Mary Mukosey.

Mr. Reilly’s wake was held at Buckmiller Funeral Home in Prospect, Conn. on May 2. His funeral took place at St. Mary’s Church in Naugatuck, Conn. on May 3. He was buried at St. James Cemetery in Naugatuck. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation or Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.