When Tom Monaghan was 4 years old, his dad passed away. His mother couldn’t handle raising two little boys by herself, so she dropped them off at the orphanage, and set out to try to rebuild her life. Tom and his brother spent their formative years with the Polish nuns at the orphanage. It was there, Tom learned about the faith that would one day become the driving force in his life.
Tom speaks fondly about the nuns at the orphanage, and about developing a work ethic while working on what were then called the “foster farms,” which were working farms staffed by children in the foster care system. There is not a scintilla of self-pity in telling the story of his childhood. He admits that he grieved the loss of his father, and that he missed his mother terribly, but he is grateful for what he learned throughout his childhood.
