Jack Pirozzolo

1940 - 2014

Jack R. Pirozzolo, 74

LANCASTER - Jack R. Pirozzolo, 74, a prominent Boston attorney, died peacefully on August 20, 2014 in Surry, Maine. He leaves his wife of three years, Cynthia (White) Pirozzolo, seven adult children and 16 grandchildren. Although Jack's death was unexpected, he was with his family in a place that he loved overlooking Morgan Bay and the mountains of Acadia National Park. Jack was born June 19, 1940 in New Haven, Connecticut to Alphonse and Mary (Cassella) Pirozzolo. Alphonse, who emigrated from Foglianise, Italy at age 13 became a tailor for J. Press in New Haven, Connecticut and Mary, whose family emigrated from Cusano-Mutri, was a full-time homemaker raising three sons and later worked as a seamstress at Sears in Hamden. Jack grew up on Helen Street in Hamden, where he was encouraged to pursue not only his love of reading and writing, but also to develop an innate fascination with technology; he loved short-wave radio, recording music and working at his uncle Victor Cassella's appliance business. Jack graduated from Hamden High School in 1958, where he met his future wife and mother of their seven children, the late Joan (Woodruff), who died in 1993. The couple married in 1962, the year he graduated from Yale College with a B.A. degree in English. After working as a reporter with the Meriden Record and New Haven Register, Jack attended Yale Law School, graduating in 1966 with an L.L.B. Following law school, Jack clerked for the late Honorable Robert Zampano of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Jack was a skilled trial lawyer, who litigated complex commercial cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, focusing on antitrust, patent and trademark cases. He began his distinguished career at the Boston law firm of Herrick, Smith, Donald, Farley & Ketchum as an associate, leaving in 1974 to start his own firm Willcox, Pirozzolo & McCarthy with his mentor Harold Willcox. For more than 35 years, he appeared regularly in court litigating landmark cases establishing significant principles of patent and copyright law. Although Jack represented Fortune 500 companies, he also provided counsel and advice to many neighbors and friends who simply asked for his help. In 2006, Jack joined the firm of Foley Hoag, and very recently moved to the firm of Sullivan & Worcester. He served on the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission and the Intellectual Property Advisory Committee of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, and frequently as a trial advocacy instructor and moot court judge. He was an original member of the 100th Inn of Court. Maintaining a keen interest in international law, Jack led a delegation of Yale Law School professors to China to lecture on legal issues and promote understanding of the U.S. legal system and contract law in the mid-1980's. He has since made many similar visits to China over the years. A resident of Lancaster, Massachusetts for over 40 years, Jack served for many years on the town's Planning Board and the Nashoba Regional School Committee. Jack also served as a trustee of the Clinton Hospital, the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Fay School in Southborough, Massachusetts, where his children attended. Jack was also a longtime member of the First Church of Christ Unitarian in Lancaster, and served on the Standing Committee for many years. Jack was truly devoted to his family and loved ones. With Joan, his wife of 31 years, Jack was the proud father of seven children and sixteen grandchildren. Often seen at the wheel of a nine-seat station wagon, Jack led family hiking and skiing trips to Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as excursions to see urban sights in Boston and New York. An avid, self-taught recreational boater, Jack spent many hours on the water with his family and friends in Maine, where he met his wife Cynthia in 2005. The couple have since been constant companions, traveling together and enjoying their many friends both in Blue Hill and Lancaster.

Jack also leaves daughter Lisa, husband Chris Goddu and their children Charlotte and Nathaniel of Boston; son Jack, wife Anne Depew and their children Isabella, James and Margaret of Brookline; son Josh, wife Tracy and their children Samuel, Jacob and Zachary of St. Paul, Minnesota; daughter Jennifer, husband John Madden and their children Jack, Sarafina and Gabriella of Cohasset; son Jason, wife Julie and their children Ava and Sullivan of Glens Falls, New York; daughter Jessica of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin; and daughter Rebecca Jan, husband John Mellowes and their children Madeline, Josephine and Jacqueline of Fox Point, Wisconsin. Jack is also survived by his brother Richard and wife Jane of Wellesley and brother Victor and partner Lou Pellino of Wallingford, Connecticut. Calling hours will be 5pm to 8pm, Tuesday August 26 at the Philbin-Comeau Funeral Home, 176 Water Street, Clinton, Massachusetts. Requiem services will be held at 11am, Wednesday, August 27 at the First Church of Christ Unitarian, 725 Main St., Lancaster, followed by interment at the Eastwood Cemetery. Donations in Jack's name may be made to the Thayer Memorial Library, 717 Main St., Lancaster, Massachusetts 01523. Online condolences may be placed at

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