Dr. Terence J. McGrath of Hampton Bays Dies June 10

Dr. Terence J. McGrath of Hampton Bays died peacefully on June 10 at his home, surrounded by his four daughters and his loving partner, Mary Egan. He was 89.

McGrath was the second of six children of The Honorable Christopher C. and Helen Gaffney McGrath and was raised in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. He graduated from Our Lady of the Assumption Parish School and Fordham Preparatory School. He attended Georgetown University and graduated from Georgetown University School of Dentistry with a DDS in 1957.

He served a three-year tour with the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Letterman Army Hospital in San Francisco, and at Vint Hill Farms Station, in Warrenton, Virginia. Upon his honorable discharge, McGrath purchased a dental practice in Pleasantville, New York, where he operated his private practice for 35 years.

He was very active in the Ninth District of the New York State Dental Society, serving as chairperson of many committees, president in 1985 and a member of the Board of Directors from 1974-1980. In 1990, he was the Medal of Honor Recipient from the Ninth District. He is a fellow of the New York Academy of Dentistry, The International College of Dentists and the American College of Dentists.

A life-long member of the Roman Catholic Church, he was very active in his parishes, Holy Innocents in Pleasantville, St. John and Mary’s in Chappaqua, New York, and more recently in St. Rosalie’s Parish in Hampton Bays. There, he volunteered at the community food pantry and served for 24 years as co-chairperson of the stewardship committee.

For most of his life, he was an active member of the Rotary International, serving as president of the club in Pleasantville, where in 1988 he was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by his Rotary club. When he retired to Hampton Bays in 1997, he joined the Hampton Bays Rotary Club, where he remained an active member until his death.

He served the community in Hampton Bays as a member of the Beautification Association, serving for 24 years as the chairman of HBBA’s Holiday Decorating Committee. He was also a member of the Irish American Society of the Hamptons, which honored him as Irish Person of the Year in 2011. He also volunteered as a member of the Concerned Citizens of Hampton Bays and on the Facilities Review Committee of Hampton Bays School District.

He loved a party and spending time with his large family and many friends, his family said. He cherished his time at Camp Acadia and Our Lady of Lourdes Camp, both run by the Archdiocese of New York. He took a special interest in his patients, nephews and nieces, and kept careful track of their accomplishments. For decades, he was an avid Yankees and Giants fan, attending games with many family and friends. Even in his 80s, he enjoyed weekly happy hour with his numerous friends in Hampton Bays. Education and community were extremely important to him, as his tireless volunteer hours demonstrate.

He was predeceased by his loving wife of 42 years, Anne Rogan McGrath; by both of his parents, his brother Christopher and his sister, Marianne Collier. He is survived by their four daughters, Sarah M. McGee and her husband, William of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, Kathleen M. Dunn and her husband, Brian of Tuckahoe and Hampton Bays, Mary M. Donovan and her husband, George of Seabrook, New Hampshire, and Maureen Svoboda of Lawrenceville, New Jersey; their 13 grandchildren including Erin McGee, Kelly and her husband, Mario Datodi, Mary Helen McGee, Kate McGee, Brendan T. Dunn, Patrick Dunn and his wife, Rachel Davis Dunn, Colleen Dunn, Daniel W. Donovan and his wife Holly Russell Donovan, Sarah Donovan Roginski and her husband, Peter Roginski, Meghan McGrath Donovan, Kathryn Svoboda, Claire Svoboda and Maggie Svoboda. He is also survived by one great-grandson, Giorgio Datodi. Mary Egan is his loving partner of 17 years and he considered her and her four children, John, Donna, Tony and his wife Anne Marie, Mike and his wife Janette, and her 11 grandchildren Caroline, Hailey, Grace, Taylor, Katie, T.J., Shea and Jack Egan, Jimmy, Emma and Sarah Hermann like family. He is also survived by his brothers, Michael and Kevin McGrath and his sister Muffin Cunnion; six dear brothers and sisters-in-law, as well as 36 nieces and nephews.

A wake will be held on Wednesday, June 14, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. at R.J. O’Shea Funeral Home in Hampton Bays. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday, June 15, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Rosalie’s Church in Hampton Bays.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Hampton Bays Rotary Club, Scholarship Fund/Terry McGrath; Fordham Prep Class of 1951 Legacy Fund, 441 East Fordham Road, Bronx, NY 10458 or St. Rosalie’s Food Pantry, 31 E. Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays, NY 11946.