clipped from www.rutlandherald.com

On the day Rutland's "Mr. Halloween" was laid to rest, Tom Fagan's friends talked about the far-flung influence that his life and his Halloween Parade have had.

"I tracked him down when I was 11 years old because he had written letters to Batman Comics and I was a big fan," Latino said. "And that's when I learned my first lesson about Tom — he was willing to open his world to anyone and he was interested in the world of others."

Fagan's thirst for "knowledge and hopes and dreams" led him on journeys to conventions around the country. Wherever fans of comics, collectibles or James Dean memorabilia gathered, Latino said, Fagan was held in high regard.

After the service was over, Latino said that during a trip with Fagan to Fairmount, Ind., where actor James Dean was raised and is buried, residents in the community knew Fagan by name. Some of the biggest names in the comics industry, including Frank Miller and Stan Lee, also knew Fagan.

clipped from www.rutlandherald.com

Tom Fagan was a number of things during a lifetime of newspaper reporting, raising a family and assuming legendary status in the comic book community.

But in Rutland, where the 76-year-old lived before his death on Monday, he was known as "Mr. Halloween" — the man who helped create an All-Hallows-Eve procession of ghosts, ghouls and costumed greats in the 1950s that endures today as the biggest Halloween parade in the state.

In that sense, the parade, which celebrates its 49th year next Friday, represents his most crowning achievement.

The annual event attracted more than 10,000 people last year and has been visited by caped crusaders sent by DC Comics and Marvel Comics — two heavyweights in the comic world.

Perhaps an even bigger distinction and honor, both the Rutland parade and Fagan have appeared in the pages of such comics as "Batman" and "The Avengers."

"Without Tom, there wouldn't be a Halloween parade in Rutland," Marro said. "That's his legacy."