Tom McDavitt, 64; teacher led fund-raisers for Haiti

It took just one trip to Haiti for Tom McDavitt to add a new mission to his already busy life. As a deacon in his Roman Catholic parish, he looked to the Greek root of his title when he chose the name Diakonos Inc. for a nonprofit he created to aid the impoverished people whose struggles he hoped to ease.

"He felt like he had been given so much in life that he wanted to give back," said his brother Jim of Cambridge.

A teacher and coach for 30 years, Mr. McDavitt retired and moved to Florida with his wife, Sara, in late summer 2005, only to be diagnosed with liver cancer a few months later. He died Friday at his daughter's home in Marlborough, where he had lived the past two months so he could spend his final weeks among family and friends in Massachusetts. Mr. McDavitt was 64 and had lived for many years in Plymouth and Dorchester.

Beginning with organizing a benefit walk that was held each year on Good Friday, Mr. McDavitt raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through the years for a variety of causes in Haiti, said his daughter, Erin Brennen of Marlborough.

"He went down there, and he couldn't believe the poverty," she said of his first trip to the island. "He came back and said, 'I'm going to do something about this.' "

"He was extremely devoted and passionate in whatever he did, whether that was making sure that we all played board games together or setting up college funds or teaching or coaching," said his son Thomas P. of Jacksonville, Fla. "He never did anything halfway. It was 100 percent devotion and passion."

Thomas Sebastian McDavitt was the oldest of five children and an athlete whose size belied his nature.

"Growing up in Dorchester, he was like king of the big kids," said his brother, who was seven years younger. "He was a student-athlete, and he used to lift weights. He was 6-foot-2, but he wasn't mean; he was kind to us little kids."

When pickup baseball and football games were organized, "he always made sure the little kids were included," his brother said. "He was a leader who was concerned about people, even from when he was very young."

As a teenager, Mr. McDavitt wore a hat with a pushed-up brim that, along with his size, made him look a little like the cartoon character Yogi Bear. Some friends started to call him Yogi, and the nickname evolved into Ogar, a name by which he is still known in some parts of Dorchester.

Mr. McDavitt played football and baseball at Boston College High School and received a football scholarship to Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., where he was a right tackle, playing offense and defense.

After graduating in 1965, he was an Army infantry lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star for his battle service in Vietnam.

After he returned to Boston, Mr. McDavitt began his teaching career as a substitute in South Boston and volunteered to be a bus monitor during desegregation. "He felt there was a wrong being done," his daughter said. "And he always said, 'If there's a wrong being done, someone needs to stand up -- and why can't it be me?' "

Mr. McDavitt married Sara Burroughs, the sister of a friend from Norwich University, 38 years ago, and they moved to Plymouth. He taught at Coady Junior High School in Bourne and coached football and softball at area high schools. Near the end of his career, he was an administrator at Boston College High School.

As a coach, he was adept at drawing from the spectrum of talents his players presented to put together impressive teams.

"He really was a motivator," said his daughter, who played on a team her father coached when she was in high school. "He could take a team of decent athletes, and they would win."

"Everybody fed off of him and his leadership," his son said.

In the late 1970s, Mr. McDavitt organized what became known as the Good Friday Canal Walk, a 16-mile trek along Cape Cod Canal from the railroad bridge, not far from St. Margaret Church in Buzzards Bay, to Scusset Beach and back again. The first year, he raised $1,200. A few years later, the amount jumped to $18,000, and he supplemented the money from the walk with other fund-raising activities, such as auctions.

"He was definitely, without a doubt, a selfless man," his son said. "You always came first. If he had a dollar for a soda, he'd give it to you and say, 'I can get mine next time.' "

Twice a year he traveled to Haiti to visit the people and organizations that benefited from the money he raised. And as each of his three children turned 16, part of the birthday present was a trip to Haiti.

"I feel very wealthy emotionally because of some of the gifts my Dad gave me, and that was one of them," his daughter said. "He always believed it takes only one person -- one person can start a revolution: 'Why can't I be that person? Why can't I open people's eyes to other things in the world?' "

In addition to his wife, daughter, son, and brother, Mr. McDavitt leaves another son, Brendan of South Boston; his mother, Gail (Cronin) of South Boston; two sisters, Sue of South Boston and Mary Viet of Northeast Harbor, Maine; a brother, Joe of Weymouth; one grandson; and two granddaughters.

A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. tomorrow in St. Brigid Church in South Boston. Burial will be in Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.