Edmund R. St. John Jr.

CORRECTION MARCH 7, 2004

The late Edmund R. St. John Jr., former Adams town counsel, is survived by a brother, Bernard St. John of Huntington, and a sister, Margaret Brown of Adams. His brother's name and his sister's town of residence were given incorrectly in Mr. St. John's obituary in yesterday's Eagle.

ADAMS -- Former longtime Town Counsel Edmund R. St. John Jr., a respected attorney and former state senator and representative, died Thursday evening, March 4, at his home at 102 Orchard St. following a lengthy illness. He was 83.

"It would be hard to say enough good things about him," veteran Selectman Joseph R. Dean Jr. said yesterday of Mr. St. John. "He was a true friend and he always helped the town."

Dean, who had known Mr. St. John since the 1950s, added, "It's tough to say goodbye to someone you've known and been close to that long."

He said Mr. St. John had been in failing health and seemed to decline after suffering a back injury in an auto accident on his way to a board meeting several years ago. Despite what later turned out to be serious injuries, the counsel showed up for the meeting, Dean said.

Respected even by political foes, Mr. St. John was honored during an Adams town meeting in May 2002 with the announcement that the annual report had been dedicated to him. As he sat in a wheelchair, The Eagle reported, "applause thundered around" the ailing former town official.

In an earlier Eagle article in 1995, Anthony McBride, a Democrat who also served in the state Legislature, said of the Republican St. John, "He was concerned primarily with his constituency, and he was a guy of his word. He told people he could help them only if he could and always steered straight from the shoulder."

A native of Adams, Mr. St. John served in Europe during World War II in an armored division that was part of Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army. He finished his education after the war, graduating from Boston University law school and passing the Massachusetts bar exam in 1950.

He opened a law office near the site of the current Big Y supermarket during the mid-1950s and served for the first time as town counsel for two years prior to his election to the state House, where he served from 1958 to 1962. Mr. St. John also served in the Senate from 1962 to 1964, before losing election to the late Andrea F. Nuciforo Sr., father of the current state office-holder, Sen. Andrea F. Nuciforo Jr., D-Pittsfield.

He was reappointed town counsel in 1980 and served in that capacity until 1999.

Mr. St. John established his law office at 2 Center St. in 1964, after urban renewal took the building housing his first office.

Born in Adams on April 28, 1920, son of Edmund Russell and Veronica Gavin St. John, he attended local schools and was a 1939 graduate of the former Adams Memorial High School.

He was an Army veteran of World War II, having entered the service in March 1942. He was honorably discharged as a corporal in October 1945. Mr. St. John was a tank gunner with the Army 239th Cavalry, Reconnaissance Company. He received the Distinctive Unit Badge and ribbons indicating his participation in the Normandy, Rhineland, Argonne Forest and Central Europe campaigns, along with the European Victory Ribbon.

Mr. St. John was also a member of the Adams Planning Board, Adams School Committee, and later a member of the Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee from 1968 to 1971. He was a town meeting member from 1968 to 1977.

He was a member of American Legion Post 160, the Burnette-Bednarz Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and the Adams Council 230 Knights of Columbus.

He was a communicant of the Parishes of Notre Dame-St. Thomas and was a supporter of the local high school athletic teams and the Boston Red Sox.

He and his wife of 54 years, the former Marjory E. Aykroyd, were married on Sept. 3, 1949.

Besides his wife, he leaves three sons, Edmund R. St. John III of Cheshire, Dennis L. St. John of Shaftsbury, Vt., and Mark A. St. John of Weymouth; two daughters, Elena M. Schaetzl of Pembroke and Marjory E. St. John of Oakland, Calif.; two brothers, Benjamin St. John of Huntington, N.Y., and Charles St. John of Cheshire; two sisters, Margaret Brown of Huntington, N.Y., and Veronica Wheeler of Pittsfield, and eight grandchildren.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated for the life of Edmund R. St. John Jr. on Monday, March 8, at 10 in St. Mary's of the Assumption Church, Cheshire. The Rev. Thomas B. Bagley will be the celebrant. Calling hours at McBRIDE FUNERAL HOME, 6 Liberty St., Adams, will be Sunday from 3 to 7. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in his memory to the Edmund R. St. John Jr. Scholarship Fund for graduates of Hoosac Valley High School, in care of the guidance department, Route 116, Cheshire, MA 01225, or the funeral home. He also leaves two daughters-in-law, Pamela and Maureen; a son-in-law, William Schaetzl; eight grandchildren, Edmund R. St. John IV of Cheshire; Andrew, Aaron and Christianna St. John of Bennington, Vt.; William and Robert Schaetzl of Pembroke, and Kellye and Kara St. John of Weymouth, and many nephews and nieces.

march 6, 2004