Edward F.C. McGonagle

McGONAGLE, Edward F. C. A long-time resident of Pelham, New York, passed away on Monday, July 19th in Westerly, Rhode Island at the age of 84. Ed was born in Medford, Massachusetts to Daniel and Mary Ellen McGonagle. He served in the Navy in Puerto Rico during World War II. He retained a great love for Puerto Rico and often joked, in his Boston accent, that he was Puerto Rican. Ed attended Princeton University, graduating cum laude in 1948. Later, he earned a masters degree at Yale and also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and Heidelberg University in Germany. While working full time, Ed attended night classes at Boston College Law School, where he met the love of his life, Mary Sullivan. After graduating from law school, Mary and Ed married in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Ed taught law at Duquesne University. They returned to Massachusetts when Ed received a Ford fellowship at Harvard Law School, earning him a LLM degree. Ed was offered a teaching position at Fordham University School of Law in New York City. Over the course of the next 42 years, Ed taught thousands of law students the intricacies of estate and trust law, administrative law, and land use planning. His expertise was also used by a range of branches of governments, including the New York State Legislature. Following New York City's financial collapse, he was instrumental in rewriting the City of New York's Administrative Code. He worked to revitalize the South Bronx and taught senior citizens about estate planning. He was well-loved for his dry wit and his many anecdotes. In 2009, Ed was awarded Professor Emeritus status from Fordham. Ed was a Pelham resident for 43 years. His passion was travel, whether it be walking the Great Wall in China or escaping to a family farm in New Hampshire. He also loved to row at the New York Athletic Club and attending the ballet and opera. Ed is survived by his five children; Edward and his wife Mary Ellen of Granada Hills, California; Maria and husband Clark Melrose of San Francisco, California; Peter and wife Mary Jo of Southport, Connecticut; Rosemary and husband Russ Percival of Lone Jack, Missouri; and Christina and husband Bard Haase of Westerly, Rhode Island. Edward was blessed with fifteen healthy grandchildren; Christina, Patrick, Catherine A., Lily, John, Maya, Katrina, Julia, Catherine R., Emmanuela, Grace, Rosemary, Christopher, Cecelia, and William. Ed is also survived by his sister-in-law Phyllis McGonagle of Lynnfield MA and his brother-in-law John B. Sullivan and his wife Mildred, of Cambridge MA. He is predeceased by his wife Mary; his brother Joseph and sister Grace; brother-in-law David Sheehan, and brother and sister-in-law Thomas and Helen Sullivan. Visitations will be held at the Buckler-Johnston Funeral Home in Westerly, R.I. on Monday, July 26 from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. and from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Tuesday, July 27th at Saint Clare Church in Westerly, RI. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Southern Poverty Law Center or the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.