J. Norman O'Connor Sr.

ADAMS -- J. Norman O'Connor Sr., 83, of 44 Leonard St. and 1523 Wildwood Lane, Naples, Fla., a longtime North Berkshire lawyer, died Tuesday at Naples Community Hospital.

Born in Uxbridge on July 10, 1923, son of William and Alice Poulin O'Connor, he attended schools in Webster and graduated from St. Louis High School. He entered the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester in 1941 and returned after World War II to get his bachelor's degree. While at Holy Cross, he was a member of the President's Council.

When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and was assigned to an accelerated 12-month officer training program at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He served in the Pacific theater and saw combat on Saipan, Tarawa and Guam as a second lieutenant with the 5th Amphibious Corps. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 1946.

Mr. O'Connor returned to Webster and operated his own insurance agency in Putnam, Conn., for several years. He then attended Boston College School of Law, where he received his juris doctor in 1953. Following his graduation from law school, he worked as a law clerk for former Justice Edward Augustine Counihan Jr. of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court for a year.

In 1954, he moved to Adams to join Walter J. Donovan in the practice of law. He became a partner, forming Donovan & O'Connor, attorneys at law. Mr. O'Connor was the active manager of the firm until 1998.

He was a fellow of the American College of Trial Attorneys and of the American Bar Foundation. Membership is limited to one-third of 1 percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. Members are nominated by Fellows in their jurisdiction and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation. He was a life member of the Massachusetts, Berkshire and American bar associations and a member and past president of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys.

He was a communicant of the Parishes of Notre Dame-St. Thomas, where he was a lector for many years. He was also a life member of American Legion Post 160 and the Adams Lodge of Elks. He was a former Adams Town Meeting member and a member of the Knights of Malta.

An advocate for education, he participated in reading to schoolchildren in the Naples elementary schools. He also enjoyed playing golf.

He and his wife, the former Betty Deary, celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary Aug. 20.

Besides his wife, he leaves two sons, J. Norman O'Connor Jr. of Adams and Thomas O'Connor of Westport, Conn.; five daughters, Maureen O'Connor Burgess of Montpelier, Vt., Marilou Lang of Plainville, Conn., Susan O'Connor of Auburn, Maine, Jane Mitchell of Merrimack, N.H., and Elizabeth O'Connor of Gloucester; 15 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Another daughter, Colleen O'Connor, is deceased.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Attorney J. Norman O'Connor Sr., who died Tuesday, Nov. 14, will be Saturday at 11 from PACIOREK FUNERAL HOME, 13 Hoosac St., Adams. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon in St. Thomas' Church, Route 8, Adams, by the Rev. Daniel J. Boyle, pastor of the Catholic Parishes of Adams. Burial will follow in the family lot in Bellevue Cemetery, Adams. Calling hours will be Friday from 4 to 7 at the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to the Frank H. Wright Memorial Scholarship Fund (Checks payable to the Rose D. Wright Trust), in care of M. Dolores Braza, Trust Officer, Bank of America, One Monarch Place, 21st Floor, Springfield, MA 01144-1001. This is a scholarship fund benefiting Berkshire County law students. Mr. O'Connor also leaves two daughters-in-law, Christine and Claire; four sons-in-law, the Hon. Brian Burgess, J. Michael Lang, Michael Mitchell and Kevin Burke. He was predeceased by a brother, William O'Connor. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family and grandchildren. To leave a message of condolence, or for directions, please go online to www.apsfuneralhome.com.