John McHugh

WALTHAM John Joseph McHugh, 89, World War II veteran and retired longtime director of the Massachusetts State Police Forensic Crime Laboratories, died Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, in Natick. Born in Cambridge June 16, 1919, the son of the late Thomas F. and Anna McHugh, John is survived by his wife, Mildred, of Waltham; four children, Maureen Dunne, MBA, and her husband, Patrick, of Framingham, Katherine McHugh Lichliter, Ph.D., and her husband, William Lichliter, of Vienna, Austria, John Joseph McHugh Jr., MBA, of Hopkinton, and Christine McHugh Purington, M.D., and her husband, James, of Rutland; eight grandchildren, Kerry Dunne and her husband, Adam Steiner, of Framingham, Eileen Dunne of South Boston, Erin Dunne and her husband, Ryan Ellis, of San Diego, Calif., Andreas Lichliter of Vienna, Austria, Nicholas McHugh of Westborough, and Eric, Carolyn, and Myles McHugh Purington of Rutland; and two great-grandchildren, Nora and Margaret Steiner. He was the brother and dear friend of Paul F. McHugh of Weymouth and West Palm Beach, Fla. John was predeceased by his other siblings, Thomas F. McHugh, Edward McHugh, Anna McHugh, Roberta Podgurski, and Margaret Jones. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews and by his cousins, John Perkins and his wife, Mary, of Belmont, and Attorney David Walsh and his wife, Patricia, of Medford. A graduate of Watertown High School, John received a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Tufts University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. He became a member of the Massachusetts and Federal Bar and was subsequently admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Shortly after graduating from Tufts, John entered the U.S. Army Air Corps serving through May 1946, rising from the rank of second lieutenant to captain. Among other decorations, he received the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal and a Bronze Star for the Ryuku Campaign. After World War II, John worked in forensic chemistry for the Massachusetts State Police Forensic Crime Laboratories, where he pioneered efforts to prevent the use of drugs in racing horses and dogs. In 1968, John was appointed director of the Massachusetts State Police Forensic Laboratories, remaining in this position until his retirement in 1987. A funeral Mass in celebration of Johns life will take place at noon, Saturday, Nov. 15, at St. Judes Church, 147 Main St., Waltham. Burial will follow in St. Patricks Cemetery, 999 Belmont St., Watertown. Visiting hours are Friday, Nov. 14, 4 to 8 p.m., at Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main St., Waltham. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of John J. McHugh to the Alzheimers Association of Massachusetts (Research Only), 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472 or to the Wounded Warrior Program (for veterans injured in Iraq/Afghanistan), c/o R and DA, 16607 Blanco Road, Suite 1506, San Antonio, TX 78232.