The Honorable Joseph A. DiClerico Jr.

1941 - 2022

The Honorable Joseph A. DiClerico, Jr.

New London, NH — The Honorable Joseph A. DiClerico, Jr., 81, of Highland Ridge Road, died Saturday, April 2, 2022 at the New London Hospital surrounded by family.

Born on January 30, 1941, the son of Dr. Joseph and Ruth (Cummings) DiClerico, he was raised in Nahant, Massachusetts. Since the early 1940s, his family enjoyed summer vacations at Twin Lake Villa, on Little Lake Sunapee, in New London, New Hampshire.

He graduated from Brooks School (1959), Williams College (1963)(Phi Beta Kappa), and Yale Law School (1966). After three years of living in an urban environment while attending law school, he was convinced that his roots would not grow through pavement, so he settled in New London, on the shore of Little Lake Sunapee, to begin his postgraduate life and professional career.

In 1975, he married Laurie Breed Thomson of Swampscott, Massachusetts and New London, which he said was one of the best decisions he made during his life. He was thrilled and blessed with the birth of their daughter, Devon, in 1978, and took great pride in her accomplishments over the years. In 2015, he was overjoyed when Devon gave birth to twin girls who were a constant source of joy for him and with whom he thoroughly cherished spending time. To them he was "Papa". His nieces and nephews and their children were a very important part of his family life, and he always looked forward to lively family gatherings with them at holidays and other times.

After graduating from law school in 1966, he served for a year as law clerk to the Honorable Aloysius J. Connor, United States District Judge for the District of New Hampshire. The following year, he served as law clerk for the five Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, an experience he found to be interesting and challenging since he was the first person in the court's history to hold that position. From 1968 to 1970, he practiced law as an associate with the law firm of Cleveland, Waters and Bass in Concord. In the fall of 1970, he became an Assistant Attorney General for New Hampshire, serving first under Attorney General Warren Rudman and then Attorney General David Souter.

In January of 1977, he began his judicial career as an Associate Justice of the New Hampshire Superior Court, having been appointed to that position by Governor Meldrim Thomson, Jr. In 1991, Governor Judd Gregg appointed him to be Chief Justice of that court. From 1977 to 1992, he was a member of the Superior Court Sentence Review Division, serving as its Chair from 1987 to 1992. He also served on numerous other committees with responsibilities relating to court administration and practice.

In 1992, United States Senator Warren Rudman asked Judge DiClerico to serve on the federal bench. He considered it a great honor when he was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to be a District Judge on the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. Following his confirmation by the United States Senate, his career as a federal judge began in the fall of 1992. During his first five years on that court he was the Chief Judge. On occasion, the First Circuit Court of Appeals designated him to sit on that court. In 2007, rather than retire outright, he became a Senior Judge, carrying a reduced caseload, and continued in that capacity until his death.

He was actively involved in the governance of the federal judiciary, serving on the First Circuit Judicial Council (1992-1994, 1998-2004, 2012-2014); the Judicial Conference of the United States (1997-2000); two Judicial Conference Committees-- Codes of Conduct (1994-2002) and Judicial Conduct and Disability (2006-2012); and as Chair of the Rudman Courthouse Security Committee since 1992.

During his more than four decades of service on the state and federal courts, he respected the professionalism and dedication of the many people without whom those courts could not function-----Judges, Clerks of Court, their staffs, court reporters, and security personnel. He enjoyed working with, and at times sparring with, the many lawyers who appeared before him. Having presided over numerous civil and criminal jury trials, he interacted with thousands of New Hampshire citizens who were called to jury service. He frequently remarked that he greatly admired their conscientiousness. He held the firm belief that a well-instructed jury would render the right decision.

His law clerks and judicial assistants with whom he worked closely were an integral part of his chambers, and he fondly referred to them as his court family. He had great respect for their competence and dedication to the task, and was inspired by their eagerness to learn.

He was a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association; past member of the American Bar Association, Merrimack County Bar Association, and the New London Bar Association; a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation; a Judicial Fellow of the New Hampshire Bar Foundation; and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court on February 18, 1975.

He was "humbled to the core", in his words, to receive two recognitions from the New Hampshire Bar Association: the Justice William A. Grimes Award for Judicial Professionalism (2007); and the 2016 Award for Distinguished Service to the Public. He often remarked that no matter the outcome of a case, it was always his goal to have the litigants leave the courtroom feeling that they had received a fair trial.

He served on the New London Planning Board (1975-1977) and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Memorial Hospital Assembly of Overseers (1989-1999). He was an incorporator of the Little Lake Sunapee Protective Association (1970), served as its President (1973-1975) and on its Board of Directors for several terms. He became a Tributary Monitor for the Lake Sunapee Protective Association in 2010. He belonged to the New London Boys Club and Heidelberg Lodge No. 92 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

He served on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, one dedicated to the environment and the other to human development, whose causes he strongly embraced. From 2010 to 2019 he was a trustee of the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust (serving as Secretary during the last 3 years of his tenure), whose mission is to preserve and protect the rural character of the Mt. Kearsarge/Ragged/Lake Sunapee region for public benefit through land conservation and stewardship. In 2010, he also joined the board of the Mayhew Program, which challenges and helps at-risk New Hampshire boys to believe in themselves, work well with others, and find their best. He continued to serve on that board until his death.

Over the course of his life he enjoyed tennis, "playing at golf" on occasion, downhill and cross- country skiing, swimming, sailing and motor boating on Little Lake Sunapee, hiking, gardening and travel.

He is survived by his wife Laurie, their daughter Devon Germak and her husband, Dr. Matthew Germak, their twin daughters, Sofia and Katelyn, and a brother, Dr.Robert DiClerico.

And so, as he said many times at the end of each hearing, "Court will be in recess".

There will be no calling hours. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 724 Main Street, New London, NH. Burial will be in the Old Main Street Cemetery, New London at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to:The Mayhew Program, PO BOX 120, Bristol, NH, 03222; Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, 71 Pleasant St, New London, NH 03257; or Lake Sunapee Region Visiting Nurse Association, P.O. Box 2209, New London, NH 03257.

To sign an online guestbook please visit www.chadwickfuneralservice.com.