Thomas McMahon

Bears fan, Aikido black belt, pilot, motorcycle rider, culinary master, attorney, skilled handyman, boat captain, avid reader, devoted husband, father, grandfather, Vietnam vet, Irish and American citizen, Firesign Theatre aficionado, music lover, and possessor of a ready wit. Tom McMahon was a plethora of predicate nominatives. (There were more, but space is limited. Obits cost money, you know, and you could probably add economically-prudent to Tom’s list of identifiers.) One exception to that monetary policy was his single-handed goal to keep the United States Postal Service afloat. He never forgot an anniversary, birthday, or holiday, sending a card to loved ones for every occasion.  

But all of that is simply a 30,000-foot view of his life’s story. To begin with, Thomas Ralph McMahon was born on August 19, 1951, in the middle of a decidedly unwealthy section of Chicago, IL. Ralph and Catherina Bohan McMahon were also the parents of Mary Jo Whalen and Michael McMahon. He made it all the way to June 25, 2026, passing away in Hamel, IL, surrounded by his wife and daughters. (More about that in a moment, because one of his more amazing descriptors took place late in life and was an amazing feat by itself.)

Tom grew up amidst the turmoil of the 1960s. And for a person of his age, that meant dealing with the Vietnam War. Rather than wait for his draft number to come up, he opted to volunteer. His service began on August 24, 1970, and he was discharged on April 14, 1972. At the age of 20, he found himself a Sergeant E-5 in a base at Chu Lai in Vietnam. One day, he volunteered to drive a truck in a convoy. Mistake. The truck broke down, the convoy went sailing by, and Tom ended up watching his truck be swarmed by Vietnamese civilians who stole absolutely everything of value, including his personal gear. A jeep of MPs finally rescued him telling him he couldn’t be on the road unescorted. His retort to them remains unprintable. (Keep his Vietnam experience in mind for later.)

Returning home, Tom graduated from the University of Illinois (BA in Psychology and Philosophy) and John Marshall Law School and went to work for the state of Illinois. But it was while working at the Ray Graham Association in Addison, IL, that he met another young attorney named Susan Ambie Besterfield. They got married on January 6, 1982, in Homewood, Il, (the wind chill temperature that day was somewhere around minus 80 degrees) and soon became the proud parents of Catherine (Kate) Ambie and Elizabeth (Beth) Ann.

He rose through the ranks of the Illinois Department of Human Services to General Counsel. Several years later, and only after political malfeasance reared its ugly head, Tom and Susan left the pleasant winters of Chicagoland behind, and took up residence in Tucson, Arizona where Tom became the Assistant City Prosecutor until his retirement.

For several wonderful years, Tom and Susan split their time between a cottage on the shores of Lake Michigan and a home in central Illinois close to where their two daughters were raising their families. And it was during this period that he really discovered a love of cooking. And he delighted in pleasing as many palates as possible. (He could get a bit obsessive, though. It seems he loved pod-se-ew, but only one restaurant in Chicago cooked it perfectly. After hundreds of attempts (just ask his family) and the creation of his own super heating cooker, he finally got it right. (A slightly charred flavor won the day.)

He also became extremely interested in his Irish roots. Copious genealogical digging led him to travel to Ireland and find his ancestors’ homes. And further exploring led him to discover he could actually gain dual citizenship. Which he proudly did.

As the first paragraph of this obituary indicates, Tom was a man of many interests. One of those not mentioned was an inclination toward the medical field. In later years he opined that perhaps he should have pursued that vocation instead of the law. Such an interest became a passion in 2016. (See reference to amazing feat above.)

That year, Tom was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. His stint in Vietnam may well have contributed to that malady. His original prognosis was for five years. Instead, he fought as hard as he possibly could, and his study of anything and everything having to do with the disease might well have made him more of an authority on the subject than those treating him. He underwent treatment after treatment, even a relatively new CAR T Cell Therapy.

He beat the cancer. But the side-effects of the treatment proved too much for his body to handle. Never losing his sense of humor through it all, he joked that at least perhaps the “Tom McMahon Syndrome” would become part of medical textbooks in years to come.

Tom is survived by his devoted wife, Susan Ambie McMahon, daughters Kate Leese (Aaron) and Beth (Nic), grandchildren Amelia and Nora Leese, Hailey, Clayton, and Mackenzie Binkley, sister Mary Jo Whalen (Marty), and many cousins. He will also never be forgotten by a close-knit group of friends with whom he vacationed every year in Michigan.

A celebration of life will occur at 5pm on 21 July 2026 at the home of Tom and Susan McMahon in Old Mission, Michigan.

Obit Provided By:
Elias, Kallal & Schaaf Funeral Home