Thomas Joseph "Tom" Mcdonough

Services will be held on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 3 PM at The Church of St. John the Evangelist, 1114 River Road, Red Hook, NY.

Born August 16, 1939, in Brooklyn, NY, Tom McDonough, an accomplished film-maker, author, and teacher, died peacefully surrounded by his beloved family in Rhinebeck, NY, on February 2nd, 2024. He was the son of the late Joseph McDonough and Grace McDermott.

After attending Jesuit schools in Brooklyn and St. Louis University, Tom returned to Manhattan, took up residence in Soho, and began what was to become a storied career in cinematography. Before long, he was a mainstay in the burgeoning independent film world, most notably in the Oscar-winning feature documentary, Best Boy, which told the story of a mentally handicapped young man living in New York City and the efforts of his aging parents to secure a place where he could live and be taken care of after they were gone.

Insatiably curious and intellectually adventurous – Tom's rigorous Jesuit early education paid dividends throughout his life – Tom began writing fiction. His first novel, Virgin With Child, was published by the Viking Press in 1981, and was warmly received, after which he published Light Years, a recounting of Tom's adventurous, occasionally harrowing life as a camera operator, and a celebration of cinematography and of light itself.

Tom married the photographer, teacher, and MacArthur Fellow, Wendy Ewald in 1990. Together, they lived in Red Hook, New York, along with their son Michael. Tom often contributed to Wendy's work by filming and documenting her projects throughout the world. Tom co-authored the novel Fatma, with Raja Alem, a Saudi Arabian author whom he and Wendy met on their travels.

Tom continued to write as well as teach, and his ever-restless, ever-questing mind pursued everything from early Jesuit history to quantum physics. He was an accomplished gardener – his and Wendy's lawns, trees, and hundreds of flowers were a regular stopping point for Bard College students and faculty out for a stroll. A devoted and knowledgeable fisherman, Tom loved fly fishing, a passion that he and Michael shared, traveling together to Maine every year for a guided fishing trip.

In his last days, Tom continued to talk about a writing project he had in mind, and he kept close to his side Carlo Rovelli's The Order of Time.

Tom is survived by Wendy and Michael, his daughter Nita, from an earlier marriage, his twin brother Peter and his sister Mary Jo, as well as his five grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that mourners consider making a donation to a charity of their choosing.