Thomas Tom D. Dolan

Born and raised in Lynn, Mr. Dolan was educated by the Sisters of St. Joseph, both at St. Mary elementary school and St. Mary High School, class of 1943. He credited Sister Edwardette with helping him prepare for the crucial scholarship exam to Holy Cross College. He sat for his exam, quickly finished, far before any other student on exam day, surprising the proctor. He earned admittance, and joined the Naval ROTC program.

Completing college early with a degree in math with honors, he was sent to the South Pacific during World War II, with the rank of Lt. Junior Grade. In May 1946, the war over, he applied and was accepted to the fall class at Harvard Law School. In 1949, he graduated with honors from Harvard Law and found his search for employment daunting as a working class kid from Lynn. “I was just a young law graduate from Harvard with honor grades but I had no connections to wealthy or successful people,” he recalled in his memoir, Reminiscences of 50 years as a Trial Lawyer. He was hired by a small firm in Lynn, Donohue & Donohue in Lynn, Mass. He learned how to become a formidable adversary, and for the next 40 years tried cases every week. The firm is now Dolan & Regan of Peabody.

“Tom was a general practitioner, a renaissance man in the practice of law. In addition to civil trial practice, he was sought out by his many private clients to handle probate, estate and trust matters and real estate transactions. Many sought his counsel and advice on any number of issues, not just law related because of his expertise and manifest wisdom, experience, goodwill and humanity,’’ said John Regan, his business partner.

“More than professional expertise and effectiveness, Tom was universally recognized for his sterling personal integrity and honor. During my first five to ten years with him many judges and lawyers told me how fortunate I was to work for Tom Dolan. They also warned me not to do anything to reflect badly on his reputation for honesty,” Regan said.

Mr. Dolan’s first priority however was his family, He was a devoted husband to his wife Evelyn and their five children. When they lost their daughter, Paula at age 21 in an automobile accident, he worked through his grief, taking loving care of his wife, while still maintaining an active law practice. They were married for more than 50 years when she died. During their time together, they traveled to Europe, across Canada by train and enjoyed cruises to the Caribbean.

Mr. Dolan was also active in civic affairs. He was a member of the Peabody Planning Board, just as West Peabody was being developed. Before the meetings, he would walk the land that was going to be discussed. He was a long time lawyer for Catholic Charities, which included helping families with adoptions. He was a member of the first parish council of St. Ann’s Church in Peabody, where he served with his friend and pastor, the late Rev. Paul Moritz.

He was elected as a Fellow to the American College of Trial Lawyers and was the recipient of the John J. Jennings Advocacy Award by the Greater Lynn Bar in 1993.

“I cannot think of any other career which would have been as fulfilling. I would highly recommend it to any young attorney who aspires to be a trial attorney but he must be willing to pay the price of long hours,” he wrote in his memoir.

It was also a career, he said, that made for lifelong friendships. In the 1960s, he and his colleagues in Essex County started meeting for dinner and song in a social club they called the Raccoons. He was the lampoonist-in-chief for the group. “We had great times. These were somewhat raucous, great fun with a lot of kidding, but brought us even closer together,” he wrote in his memoir.

At age 70, Mr. Dolan stopped trial work and divided his time between his home in Peabody and his condo at Seven Springs Country Club in New Port Richey, Florida. He still worked 30 hours a week from his Florida home office and loved writing letters to the editor to local newspapers to express his views.

Three years ago, after his health declined, Mr. Dolan moved into Ashland Farm in North Andover. Here, he was taken care of with great love, respect and kindness by the wonderful staff who watched over him and assisted him. In his younger days, he would often say to his children, “Old lawyers, like old generals, never retire, they just slip away.” He died as he had wanted, in his own bed, in his home with family at his side.

Mr. Dolan was the husband of the late Evelyn F. Peters Dolan and father of the late Paula M. Dolan. He was born in Lynn, son of the late Annie B. Rock and her first husband, Thomas P. Dolan. He is survived by his daughter, Kathleen L. Sciacca and her husband, Joe of Haverhill; son Thomas David Dolan and his partner, Ellen Madzar of Waltham; son Brian Dolan and his wife, Alicia of LaMirada, Calif.; daughter, Nancy Ziedonis and her husband, Igor, of Princeton Jct., N.J.; grandchildren, Dr. Kyle Dolan and Tara Dolan of Chicago, Ill.; Christopher and Caroline Ziedonis of Washington, D.C.; Joseph Sciacca of Haverhill; Thomas and Michelle Dolan, of LaMirada, Calif.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Pius Church, Lynn. Visitation is just before the funeral, from 9:30 to 10:30 at Cuffe McGinn Funeral Home, 157 Maple St., Lynn. Burial will be in St .Joseph Cemetery in Lynn.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Thomas and Evelyn F. Dolan Memorial Scholarship, which will be established at St Mary High School, 35 Tremont St., Lynn, MA 01902.

The family extends its deepest appreciation to the care team at Harbor at Ashland Farm for the excellent care and compassion they provided, which allowed him to enjoy a peaceful end to his life.