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 Lawrence Urbano
November 27, 2001
Retired Superior Court Judge Lawrence B. Urbano, a Williamstown native and former member of that town's Select Board, died Tuesday evening at the Hampshire Care Center in Leeds. Urbano, who lived on Ridge Road, was 78.
The son of an automobile mechanic, Urbano was appointed an associate justice of the state superior court system by then Gov. Edward J. King in 1980. He retired in 1991.
Born May 8, 1923, the son of Raphael and Flora Blanquart Urbano, he graduated from the former Williamstown High School in 1941. He entered Williams College in 1941, but left to serve in the Navy Air Corps during World War II.
Urbano served as a naval aviator in the Pacific theater and was stationed on the aircraft carriers Hornet and Yorktown.
He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down two Japanese planes on one flight. His plane was shot up once, but he managed to fly it back to safety.
Following his military service, Urbano returned to Williams, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in English literature in 1947.
Like many World War II veterans whose education was interrupted by military service, Urbano was allowed to be listed as a graduate with his original class of 1945. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1947.
Urbano served as law clerk to the Supreme Judicial Court, the state's highest court, and as a research assistant on the Harvard Law School faculty. He then served three years as a U.S. district attorney.
After several years with the Boston law firm Nutter, McClemmon & Fish, he returned to Williamstown in 1960 to open his own practice.
"Although it was an excellent law firm, I didn't like the city or commuting [in Boston]. I have always liked Williamstown," Urbano told The Eagle in 1980.
A Navy Reservist, he was recalled to active duty in 1961 during the Berlin crisis. A squadron commander, he flew an anti-submarine plane, a picture of which once graced his office wall. He retired in 1983, with the rank of commander.
At the 1969 town caucus, Urbano was involved in a last-minute search for a candidate for the Select Board. After several unsuccessful phone calls, The Eagle reported that Urbano put in his own name and won. He served two three-year terms and told The Eagle in 1975 that his law practice was so demanding he would not run for a third term. He also served as Williamstown's town counsel for many years. He moved to Worthington in 1984.
A longtime civic leader, Urbano was also a former member of the board of directors of the Williamstown Theatre Foundation and of the Buxton School, and a member of the board of trustees of Williamstown National Bank, and the state, Berkshire, Hampshire and Boston bar associations. He also served as a member of the state Board of Examiners.
He was a communicant of St. Patrick's Church in Williamstown and, while in Worthington, of St. Thomas' Church in Huntington. He was a member of the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, the Worthington Golf Club and the Captains' Golf Course in Brewster. He also was a member of the Dalton Veterans of Foreign Wars and of Richard A. Ruether American Legion Post 152 in Williamstown.
In 1974, Urbano received the Francis H. Hayden Memorial Award for his community work and leadership. He was a former member and president of the Williamstown Rotary Club.
His first wife, the former Norma Ecklund, died Dec. 3, 1971.
He and his wife, the former Ellen Eaton, were married May 20, 1972, in St. Patrick's Church.
Besides his wife, he leaves a sister, Elizabeth O'Donnell of Orlando, Fla., and a brother Robert Urbano of Rockport. He also leaves an aunt, Ida Fix of Williamstown, three nieces, two nephews and several cousins.
A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be concelebrated at 11 Saturday at St. Patrick's Church in Williamstown by the Rev. William F. Cyr, pastor, and the Rev. Donald Noiseux, pastor of St. Thomas' Church in Huntington. Burial with military honors will follow in the family plot in Eastlawn Cemetery in Williamstown. There will be no calling hours. Memorial donations are suggested for the St. Thomas' Building Fund in Huntington, or to the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children through FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, MA., which is in charge of arrangements.
| Miss you - especially your great sense of humor and your generosity. Your sister, Betty | | from: Betty (Urbano) O'Donnell | on: 09-25-2014 |
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