Thomas J. Curley Jr.

07/28/2005

Thomas J. Curley Jr., a Berkshire Superior Court judge whose love of the law was trumped only by his devotion to family and friends, died yesterday at his home at 148 Alfred Drive after a 2 1/2-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 48. Born in Pittsfield on Jan. 22, 1957, son of Thomas J. Sr. and Elaine Patricia Lynch Curley, he graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1974, from Harvard College cum laude in 1978 and from Suffolk University Law School in 1983. He served as an assistant U.S. attorney until 1987 and then in a private firm in Boston until 1989, when he came home and joined longtime friend Thomas L. Campoli in Campoli's father's firm. The name was changed to Campoli & Curley when he became a partner. He was appointed an associate justice of Superior Court by former Gov. A. Paul Cellucci seven years ago. Curley was a communicant of Sacred Heart Church. He was a former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority from 1991 to 1998, serving as vice chairman the last two years. He was a vice chairman of the Berkshire Community College board of trustees; a chairman of the Pittsfield Industrial Development Committee and the Community Development Board; chaiman of the Harvard Admission and Scholarship Committee, Berkshire County; chairman of the PIttsfield Jail Site Committee, and a member of the state and Berkshire bar associations. He leaves his wife, whom he married Oct. 4, 1986, in Cambridge. He also leaves a son, Edward L. "Ned" Curley, and two daughters, Catherine G. and Laura B. Curley, all at home; four brothers, Peter Curley of Westbrook, Michael Curley of Fort Myers, Fla., Mark Curley of Tampa, Fla., and Paul Curley of Hong Kong, and a sister, Diane Curley of Ocean Grove, N.J. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for The Honorable Thomas J. Curley Jr., age 48, who died July 28, 2005, surrounded by family and friends, will be on Monday at 10 at Sacred Heart Church with the Most Reverend Joseph F. Maguire, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Springfield, as celebrant, assisted by the Rev. James K. Joyce, pastor. Burial will follow in St. Joseph's Cemetery. Calling hours will be Sunday from 3 until 8 at Sacred Heart Church. In lieu of flowers, if friends desire, donations in his memory may be made to the Jimmy Fund, the Thomas and Patricia Curley Scholarship at Berkshire Community College or HospiceCare in the Berkshires in care of the DEVANNY-CONDRON FUNERAL HOME. He is also survived by three sisters-in-law, Connie Macellara, Catherine Smith and Tracey Mancini; two brothers-in-law, Stephen Macellara and Michael Mancini; his sister's partner, Susan Waters, and several nieces and nephews.

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Thomas J. Curley Jr.

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I was secretary to Tom when he was a lawyer in Boston. He was the best attorney I ever worked for and I new he would go far from day one. I had no idea he passed away until I looked his name up today. May he rest in peace.
from: louise chapman	on: 11-11-2024