McNamara's Blog

Francis Thomas "Mugs" McNamara December 20, 1933 - November 7, 2020 A Photographic Tribute The Five of Us Early Saturday morning, November 7, 2020, Francis Thomas McNamara took his final breath, in his own bed, surrounded by his family. Advanced Congestive Heart Failure may have won the battle, but he went out on his own terms, lucidly and methodically leaving instructions for his memorial service, lovingly sharing private farewells to each family member, listening to his classical music playlist of Debussy and Chopin, closing his eyes and then raising his right hand as if he was conducting his final concert. Young Mugs Born on December 20, 1933, he was the youngest of the five children of John and Josephine “Josie” McNamara and was the first to be delivered in a hospital. His mother was so smitten with her youngest that she called him her little “Muggings”, and old Irish term of endearment that was lost on his sentimentally challenged older brothers who shortened it to the m...

 McNamara, Francis Thomas (Mugs) passed gently into the morning light of November 7, 2020, 43 days short of his 87th Birthday surrounded by his family. He was the youngest and the last surviving child of John and Josephine McNamara and was preceded in death by his beloved siblings Mary, James, Anne, and John.  The son of an Irish immigrant, Mugs was bread and buttered in the town he loved so well attending Christian Brothers High School, Sacramento City College, and Sacramento State University. He graduated from Chico State University in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in education followed by a master’s degree in the same subject.   He was a lifelong learner devoted to his books and the arts. He would spend 47 years as a teacher and principal beginning with the Sacramento City Unified School District, commencing with the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, with indelible tenures at Joseph Bonham, Caleb Greenwood, John Bidwell, St. Ann’s, and St. Patrick’s. With quiet stre...