Jerome Medalie

Jerome Medalie of Dedham, MA died peacefully at his cottage home in NewBridge on the Charles on Thursday, June 16, 2022. He was in his 97th year. He is survived by his loving family including daughter Cynthia Medalie, son David Medalie, son Seth and daughter-in-law Leslie Medalie, son Harry Lowd and daughter-in-law Jessica Leete; grandsons Ben Wilkofsky, Daniel Wilkofsky, and Ryan Medalie; granddaughters Caitlin Medalie, Quin and Charlotte Lowd; and great granddaughter Isabel Wilkofsky. He is predeceased by his beloved wife Beth Lowd, and his parents Joseph B. and Mae G. Medalie, and sister Phyllis Safton.

Jerome Medalie grew up in New Haven, Connecticut and attended New Haven High School. In 1942, at the age of sixteen, he entered Yale University on a scholarship, leaving in 1944 to enlist in the United States Naval Reserve and enter WWII. He attended Officers’ Candidate School at Notre Dame University and immediately after graduation he was assigned to combat duty in the Pacific. He served as Assistant Navigator, and then Navigator, of an aircraft carrier with the Seventh Fleet. After the end of the war, he was reassigned as the executive officer and navigator of an LSM which operated in the China-Korea area. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University in absentia in 1944, as part of the class of ‘45W. While recuperating from a wound in a hospital on the island Guam, he received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946.

Following his military service, Mr. Medalie returned to New Haven where he worked as a line employee in various production assignments at Sargent Locks & Hardware Company, becoming an assistant foreman after several months. He helped organize the American Veteran’s Committee, a national group dedicated to “bringing to reality, for all Americans, the values for which we fought and bled.” In 1947 he was appointed by the Mayor of New Haven to a newly formed Citizens Advisory Council on Education. He served on a statewide group which successfully lobbied for the passage of Connecticut’s Fair Housing Act.

In 1948 Mr. Medalie entered Harvard Law School from which he graduated with honors in 1951. He remained in Boston to practice trial and labor law. The following year he handled two pro bono cases of great media interest. One involved the release from life imprisonment on the grounds of serious trial misconduct by both the prosecution and the judge and mistaken conviction, of a man sentenced for the killing of a policeman; the other was a novel and successful challenge and removal from office of an incumbent, reelected state representative on grounds of fraudulent campaigning, a hearing conducted before a Joint Judiciary Committee of the Massachusetts legislature. At the conclusion of the latter case, he was selected by the incoming United States Attorney to become an Assistant U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts with the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Medalie served in the Boston U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1953 to 1956 where, among other duties, he handled the investigation and prosecution of the great Brink’s Robbery.

During his years in private law practice he considered himself a “determined generalist” often noting, “I want to know and help the whole client – not just a part; what I don’t know will be filled by the specialists; my challenge is to know what I don’t know.”

In 1964 he began what would become a lifelong interest in politics by joining his Newton ward committee and being elected a delegate to the Democratic Party’s state convention. While living with his family in Newton, MA he organized the West Suburban Democratic League, which met once a month at his home and included such notable political attendees as Kevin H. White, Michael S. Dukakis, and Kevin B. Harrington.

Mr. Medalie kept a framed inscription over his desk that read: “What do you want to be remembered for?” Other than responding that unfailing love and support for his family was paramount, he thought gaining and maintaining respect and trust from his clients, his peers and the public were preeminent. As he wrote in 1995 for his Yale University 50th Class Reunion, “I tried to move mountains; I may have dislodged a few pebbles. That’s okay, at least I tried. And I’m still trying.”

Although he practiced law in Boston for over 40 years, both as an assistant U.S. Attorney and, for the next 35 years as a partner in major Boston law firms, the dominant lure for him was always a public service effort to rectify what he viewed as wrong – and correctable.

Jerome Medalie created and endowed the Money in American Politics course at his alma mater Yale University, a groundbreaking class designed to enlighten students on the influence of money in politics. He also had a passionate interest in End of Life issues and was a fervent supporter of Compassion and Choices of Massachusetts.

After suffering a heart attack in his mid-50’s, Mr. Medalie embraced a wide array of personal interests and challenges including learning to play the piano, painting and sculpting, as well as becoming a knowledgeable rose gardener. He loved mountain hiking, taking vacations with his wife Beth and family around the world including treks to Switzerland, Alaska, Montana, and the national parks of Utah and Arizona, among others -- always while sporting his “Get High on Mountains” tee shirt. After he retired from private law practice, he and Beth embarked on a yearlong trip around the country in their RV. And each February they could be found enjoying a month at their beloved Virgin Gorda cottage getaway.

Mr. Medalie had a passion for the intellectual, a vision for change, and a unique story-telling ability. His 96 years were well spent working to right the wrongs, help the less fortunate, and explore, appreciate, and preserve the beauty of the world around him. He believed life is a journey and asked those who mourn him to “Get involved. Make a difference. Try to repair whatever portion of the world you believe you can.”

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Jerome Medalie’s name to Compassion and Choices of Massachusetts, Hebrew Senior Life, and the Appalachian Mountain Club Trails Fund. A Shiva will be held on Monday, June 20, 2022, at NewBridge on the Charles on the Centro Terrace from noon to 2:00 p.m.