Thomas R. McGeer

Thomas R. McGeer Sr., who formerly owned and operated McGeer’s Pub in Wilkes-Barre with his wife, Dorothy, died late Thursday night, March 12th, at St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. As he took his last breath, he was surrounded by his two children and six of his grandchildren, his wife cradling his face in her hands and kissing his forehead. He had suffered a stroke four days earlier.

Mr. McGeer, 94, was well-known in the area as a dart champion and was pursued by many teams that wanted him as a member. He often attracted a crowd when he played, as the hope of seeing him shoot a nearly perfect game remained a draw into his 80s.

A World War II veteran, he served in the Pacific theater with the Army Medical Corps as part of the 98th Infantry Division.

Though his abiding silence was a defining characteristic, he could get talkative once in a while, especially on the topic of sports (go, Phillies and Eagles) or when having a beer with his brothers. He often had a Parodi cigar in his mouth, even long after he gave up smoking. He had replaced his chewing tobacco with Big League chewing gum in recent years.

Born December 21, 1920 in Philadelphia he was a son of the late Lawrence and Anna Walsh McGeer. The family moved to Concrete City when he was about nine months old and later to Jod Hill in West Nanticoke. He would walk across the West Nanticoke bridge to attend school at St. Francis of Assisi in Nanticoke, sometimes by way of the metal beams over the top instead of on the sidewalk.

He was an usher at the Family Movie Theater in Nanticoke, where he met a pretty ticket seller, who would become his wife of 73 years. They were married on Oct. 1, 1942 in St. John’s Lutheran Church, Nanticoke, about two months before he went off to war. They later had their marriage blessed at St. Francis. The couple lived in the Lee Park section of Hanover Twp., before joining their daughter in St. Petersburg, Fla., a few years ago.

They were told by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board that they were the oldest bar owner-operators in the state before they closed McGeer’s Pub in 2008, when Mr. McGeer was 87 and Mrs. McGeer was 86. They had the Hazle Street business for twenty years, tending bar themselves six days a week until the end, and they thought of many of their customers as family.

In addition to the Family Theater, Mr. McGeer worked for Schimmel Construction Co. and K&S Canning. He also tended bar at McCarthy’s Café in Hanover Township, where customers gave him the nickname “Mongoose.” He had short stints at a colliery and in demolition as well.

He was preceded in death by siblings, Lawrence, Mary, Joseph, Gene, Jack, Vincent and Bobby; and two grandchildren, Peter Justin McGeer and Kelly (Krapf) Prouty.

Tom will be greatly missed by his wife, the former Dorothy Lubinski, who became his doting focus over the past few years; children, Thomas Jr. of Wilkes-Barre Township and Judith Ann Krapf of St. Petersburg, Florida; 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

Celebration of Tom’s Life will begin Thursday with visitation from 5 to 8 PM at McLaughlin’s, 142 South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre. A Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated on Friday at 11 AM at McLaughlin’s. Interment will be in Saint Mary’s Cemetery.

In the spirit of an Irish wake, the family requests memories and photos be brought along to share, or shared online at www.lifecelebrations.com