John Howard LaChance

John Howard LaChance, 79, died on February 21, 2026, from complications of a series of strokes.

John grew up in Framingham, Massachusetts, where he lived until his retirement, when he moved first to Sarasota, Florida (2013–2019), and later to Atlanta, Georgia (2019–2026). An avid reader from an early age, his love of philosophy and physics was already evident in high school. “Talent for E=mc2 / Energetic, esoteric editor / The great debater / Edward Albee and Albert Camus / A flair for success,” wrote the editors of his Framingham North High School ’64 yearbook. Carrying that flair for success into his studies, John earned his A.B. in government from Bowdoin College in 1968 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1971.


After law school, John embarked on a distinguished career in criminal law. Following a brief stint as an assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Massachusetts, he began a thirty-year career as a criminal defense attorney, practicing in courts throughout the state, from Worcester to Boston. Much of his work involved serving as court-appointed counsel in high-profile cases. This included serving as amicus counsel for John Salvi following the 1994 shootings at two Brookline health clinics and representing Joseph Druce, who was charged with the death of John Geoghan. But his career was defined by a commitment to those the system overlooks. In 1991, the Committee for Public Counsel Services awarded John the Edward J. Duggan Private Counsel Award “for zealous advocacy and outstanding legal services to the poor.” He later served as president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

In a 2003 Boston Globe profile headlined “Defense Lawyer Called a Quiet, Effective Idealist,” journalist Jonathan Saltzman observed that John “hardly fits the stereotype of the flashy criminal defense lawyer.” He “talks in a down-to-earth manner that befits an affable Rotarian more than a defender of notorious mobsters and killers.” Explaining his devotion to criminal defense, John said, “I’ve always believed that defending liberty is more important than defending money. Our job is to do the absolute best we can to protect all of their rights and make certain the Commonwealth basically comes through us to get at them. So if somebody is convicted, it won’t be because they were powerless against the system.”

While he was a formidable presence in the courtroom, friends knew a different side of John, one defined by an irreverent sense of humor, a gift for storytelling, and a love for live theater. Whether discussing a complex work of fiction or a legal victory, he spoke with warmth and wit that will be deeply missed.

John was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years Karen (Kiley), his parents Daniel and Helen (Mason) LaChance, his sister Jane Elizabeth Joy, and his brother-in-law William P. Kiley. He leaves behind his son Daniel and Daniel’s husband, John Morgenstern, of Atlanta; his sister-in-law Janice Kiley of Natick, Massachusetts; and nephews Alex and Justin Meaney of Seattle and Aaron Joy of Corvallis, Montana.

An online memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 24. Those wishing to attend may email [email protected] for the link. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the American Civil Liberties Union or Bowdoin College.