Thomas P. Shortall

Thomas P. Shortall, 86, of Narragansett, passed away Tuesday He was the beloved husband of the late Phyllis (Jacques) Shortall, who passed away in 2011. Born in Providence he was a son of the late Thomas F. and Elizabeth (Fahey) Shortall. Mr. Shortall grew up in the Mt. Pleasant section of Providence and graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School. Mr. Shortall joined the R.I. National Guard in 1949 and attended the Allen School of Aeronautics, where he earned his master mechanic license from the Federal Aviation Administration. After stints with American Airlines in New York as a mechanic, the U.S. Air Force as a civilian technical rep,, and Fram Aerospace in the Research & Development Dept., he decided to enroll in flight school at Fort Wolters in Texas. He returned home in 1970 as a 38-year-old helicopter pilot. Mr. Shortall eventually became the Helicopter Pilot for the Governors of Rhode Island. During Governor Noel’s term, he was credited with saving the Governor’s life with his exceptional flying skills. This occurred when the two were flying to the Alton Jones Campus in West Greenwich in May of 1976 when the helicopter experienced a mechanical malfunction. Mr. Shortall was a 2011 Inductee to the Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame. He also was a member of the BPOE Lodge in Wakefield, as well as many other civic and military organizations. He will be remembered for his quick wit and sense of humor, and how he enjoyed telling stories. He is survived by five children, Thomas P. Shortall, Jr. and his wife Susan of Maine, Scott Shortall of Narragansett, Douglas Shortall and his wife Marguerite of Lincoln, Dorothy McMahon and her husband John of Narragansett, and Stephen Shortall and his wife Jennifer of Coventry; four grandchildren; and a sister, Mary Beth Cassani of California. He was the brother of the late John F. Shortall. A funeral service will be held in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield Friday at 11 am. Burial with military honors will follow in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter. Visiting hours are Thursday, 4-7 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project , PO Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8517.