For over seventy years John Michael Maloy, boy and man, was a familiar personage to the people of Warren, while for far longer than half a century he was a popular and prosperous merchant there. Quiet, unassuming, genial and courteous in all his associations with his fellows, he was the soul of honor and a living example of the Golden Rule. His value as a citizen was recognized and he was called to public office, in which he served with distinction and with value to the people. It is probable that no merchant in the city accomplished more with less apparent exertion than he, for his quiet methods were one of his most pronounced characteristics. He was both human and humane and gave generously when he was assured of the worthiness of the cause, yet so quietly did he go about it that few knew of the many benefactions that came from his kindly hand. His friends were as numerous as his acquaintances, for he drew men to him and retained their friendship through an absolute and unvarying loyalty and uprightness of character. He was a fine citizen of Rhode Island whose loss to the body politic was severe and widely mourned.
He was born in Swansea, Massachusetts, December 5, 1857, a son of the late Patrick and Mary Maloy, who removed to Warren when he was five years of age. He began his career in the market and grocery business and never departed from that occupation. His first employer was M. B. Conroy in 1894 he bought out his employer and conducted the enterprise personally. He built up the largest trade in meats and groceries in this part of the State and did it for the reason that he demanded for himself the best the market afforded and operated upon the principle that his customers were entitled to equal consideration. Deeply and sincerely interested in the welfare of Warren, he served the town for thirteen years as a member of its governing body, the council, while for ten years he was a member of the town finance committee and for four years its secretary. For thirty-five years he had been a member of the Court Warren, No. 33, Foresters of America, and during that period had served as its financial secretary. He was a trustee of Warren Council, Knights of Columbus, and for a number of years was a director of the Rhode Island Retail Grocers’ Association. In St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church he had been a trustee for more than thirty years and was affiliated with the Holy Name and St. Vincent de Paul societies. He served on many church committees and was always ready with time, energy or money to aid their work. He died in Warren, December 29, 1929, in the seventy-third year of his age.
John Michael Maloy married, April 29, 1882, Catherine Duffy, daughter of John and Annie Duffy, of Bristol, Rhode Island. Their children are:
- John Michael, an organist in New York City.
- Charles, married Aldea Mondina, and they are the parents of, Norma, and Rita.
- William, married Elizabeth Geever.
Mrs. Maloy’s father was a retired employee of the International Rubber Company and died in January, 1930.
In the hearts of hundreds of his fellow-citizens the memory of John Michael Maloy will long be enshrined as one of the kindliest of men, one of the noblest of characters, one of the most important members of the community which he graced for nearly three-quarters of a century. Men of his stamp can ill be spared and when they are taken from the scenes of their earthly activities there is left a void that can never be closely fitted with another, for the mold is all too rare.
Source: Carroll, Charles. Rhode Island: Three Centuries of Democracy, vol 3 of 4. New York: Lewis historical Pub. Co., 1932.