Joseph Michael Kerrigan

1919 - 2011

NASHUA - Joseph Michael Kerrigan was born in Haverhill, Mass. September 29, 1919, to Anna Murphy Kerrigan and James A. Kerrigan. He lived a long and rich life, loved by many, touching many, and leaving an enduring legacy behind.

He was a brilliant trial lawyer, a mesmerizing story teller, a wise counselor and a wonderful friend, father, grandfather and spouse. He enjoyed his life enormously, loved sharing his life with others, always had his priorities in order and led an honorable and amazingly full life. He encouraged his children and grandchildren to lead full and rewarding lives and set an example which made it clear how to accomplish those goals. He passed away gracefully and peacefully at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack this past Sunday evening, November 27, 2011. During his time with us he met many people, always treating them with the respect they deserved, be they rich or poor. He was a man of wise judgment and unwavering character, who would listen well and always offer sage advice when asked. It would be accurate to suggest that he had a commanding presence and could be persuasive when he wanted to be.

He entered the College of the Holy Cross at the age of 15 and graduated as Class Treasurer in 1939 with AB Honors. He enrolled in the Harvard Law School in 1939, but World War II interrupted his legal studies, so it was not until 1947 that he received his Doctor of Laws. Like some of his classmates, he had transferred to the Harvard Business School in 1942. After receiving an Associate Degree from the "B" School in 1943, he worked for Curtis Wright Corporation from 1943 to 1944, at which point he entered the United States Army Air Force, from which he was honorably discharged in 1946 as a Staff Sergeant. After finishing his law school degree at Harvard in 1947, he went to work for the Hartford Acc and Ind Co. as a trial attorney in Boston. He moved his family to Nashua in 1951 when he was hired by Sullivan & Gregg and then joined the firm of Hamblett, Morin and Hamblett in 1955. His name became synonymous with the firm which still bears his name to this day. He retired from his very active practice of law in 2004 at the age of 84.

His professional credentials truly give only a glimpse into that aspect of his life, where trust and respect were his most profound calling cards. He was a past President of the Nashua Bar Association and the 2008 recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award. He was past President of the New Hampshire Bar Association and the 1992 recipient of its Professionalism Award. He was a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association and was also admitted to appear before the First Circuit Court of Appeals. He was a past President of both the New England Bar Association and the Northern New England Defense Counsel. He was a member of the American Bar Association and a Life Member of the American Law Institute. He was a Founder and the State Chair (1976-1978) of the New Hampshire Bar Foundation and from 1978-1980 he was the State Chair of the American Bar Foundation. He was the State Chair of the Defense Research Institute from 1982 to 1989 and a Director of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys from 1985 to 1988. He was the State Chair of the American College of Trial Attorneys from 1984 to 1986.

His civic involvement included being a Trustee of Rivier College from 1960 to 2002, the Rivier College Secretary from 1973 until 2002 and the recipient of an Honorary Degree of Juris Doctor from Rivier College in 1986. He was on the City of Nashua Planning Board from 1956 to 1962 and was its Chair in 1960-61. He was the co-recipient of the Nashua Charitable Foundation's First Humanitarian Award in 1996 and he was named Citizen of the Year by the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce in 1997. For many years he was also on the Advisory Council of what is now known as Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and as well as the Advisory Board of St. Joseph Hospital. He was, very happily, a long time member of the Nashua Country Club and was a Director on its Board from 1976 to 1979. He was a past president of the Twenty Associates, and quite possibly its proudest member, from 1957 until right up to his death.

Joe married Jean Margaret Dooley in 1942 and during their 59 years of marriage they had five children. Jean passed away in 2001. We were all lucky to join in the nuptial celebration when he married Marjorie Lemay Kerrigan, to whom he has been married since June 22, 2004. In addition to Marjorie, he is survived by Kathleen Anne Potvin, of Nashua, born in 1946, her partner, Tom Maszczak and her two children, Joseph and his husband, Armin Molavi, and Elizabeth; Dr. Joseph Michael Kerrigan, Jr., of Denver, Colo., born in 1948, and his two sons, Stephen, his wife JJ and their son, Joe's only great-grandchild, Jude, and James; The Honorable Patricia Jean Kerrigan, of Bellaire, Texas, born 1951, her husband Philip Werner, Esquire, and his sons, Austin and Stuart and his wife Emily; Timothy George Kerrigan, Esquire, born 1954, of Amherst, his wife Catherine Devine, Esquire, and their sons, Devin, Miles and Brennan; Matthew James Kerrigan, Esquire, born 1960, of Bellaire, Texas and his wife, Sylvia Kerrigan, Esquire. Additionally, Joe is survived by his stepchildren, Luanne Lemay; Louis P. Lemay, III, his wife, Amy and their children, Maureen and Megan; and Mary Beth Lemay Miller, and her son, Daniel, all of Nashua. Joe's only sibling, William Anthony Kerrigan, who was five years and five days his younger, passed away in 2005, but Joe is survived by Bill's wife of many years, Mary O'Toole Kerrigan, of Ocean Park, Maine, their nine children, their spouses and all 26 of her grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister-in-law from his marriage to Jean, M. Elisabeth Fitzgerald Dooley, of Belmont, Mass. and her three sons, and her grandchildren.

Calling hours are Wednesday, November 30th, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Davis Funeral Home, One Lock Street, Nashua (www.davisfuneralhomenh.com).

Funeral services will be held Thursday, December 1, at 11 a.m. at St. Louis de Gonzague Church, 48 West Hollis Street, Nashua. Friends and family are invited to attend and asked to gather at the church. Interment prayers and burial will follow in Edgewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Community Hospice House, c/o Home Health & Hospice Care, 7 Executive Park Drive, Merrimack, NH 03054, or to the charity of your choice.

Arrangements are in the care of Davis Funeral Home, 603-883-3401. An online guestbook is available at www.davisfuneralhomenh.com.