Michael Francis Toohig

Michael F. Toohig formerly of Roanoke, VA and Smith Mountain Lake peacefully passed away on Saturday, November 28, 2020 surrounded by his loving family at the age of 95 at his home in McLean, VA. He is survived by his wife of 64 years Barbara (Bissonnette) Toohig and his children Delsina Matranga, Timothy Toohig, Terrence Toohig, Michele Brem, Aimee Urquhart and 11 grandchildren. He was born on December 9, 1924 in Lawrence, MA to Timothy and Catherine (Walsh) Toohig and is survived by his sisters Mary Valcourt and Catherine McCarthy of Lawrence, MA; Eileen Mueller of Cicero, NY; and Sister Elizabeth Toohig, SC of East Islip, NY. Michael was preceded in death by his brothers the Reverend Timothy Toohig SJ and John Toohig and his sister Ann Hickey. He earned a Bronze Star in the 103rd Infantry Division of the US Army during World War II and graduated with a BS and MS in Physics from Boston College. An active member of St Luke Catholic Church of McLean, his strong Catholic faith supported him through many challenging times as he worked hard to help support his family from an early age. His greatest priority and proudest accomplishment in his life was his family. He always enjoyed physical activity and jogged decades before it became popular. Michael loved all things western throughout his life. He loved to read westerns by Louis L’Amour and he and Barbara were often found watching a western. He traveled extensively and worked throughout the world but particularly enjoyed his time with ITT in Roanoke, VA and Fort Wayne, IN as well as Hekimian Laboratories and Spirent Communications in Gaithersburg, MD. During a career that spanned over fifty years in cutting edge technical fields like television, the first cockpit displays, night vision, fiber optics, and telecommunications he worked with distinguished scientists such as Philo T. Farnsworth (Inventor of TV) and Dr Charles Koa (Inventor of Fiber Optics). Funeral services will be held privately with a memorial celebration of his life to be held in the future. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a charity of your choice or perform a kind act in his memory.