Obituary for Robert J. Muldoon, Jr.
Robert J. Muldoon, Jr. of Arlington joined the majority on July 4, 2022. Known to all as Bob, and to a few as Boston Papa, he was predeceased by his parents, Robert J. Muldoon, Sr., and Catherine E. Hurley Muldoon. He was the husband of 49 years of Barbara J. Mooney Muldoon, who passed away in 2017.
Bob attended St. Clement’s School and then BC High which inspired everything he did throughout his life. He joined the novitiate class of the Society of Jesus at Shadowbrook in Lenox, MA immediately after high school. The friendships he made at Shadowbrook continue to this day. After leaving the Society, Bob attended BC Law, thus becoming the rarest of birds, a quadruple Eagle (counting degrees conferred by BC while he was in the seminary).
Bob clerked for the Hon. Paul G. Kirk at the SJC of Massachusetts before embarking on his career at Withington, Cross, Park & Grodin. Among many notable cases, Bob and his great friend Rudy Kass successfully represented the residents of Arlington against the MA Department of Public Works to prevent Spy Pond being filled in to expand Route 2.
Bob met Barbara Mooney in 1966; they married two years later. They welcomed son Andrew in 1969, and were nonplussed/delighted by the premature arrival of twins Catherine and Timothy in 1971.
As a Dad, Bob was, (how to put this tactfully), unusual. He had a tendency to quote from King Lear, particularly on long car rides. (“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth is an ungrateful child!”) But his heroic side always shone through: he swam far out into the ocean to retrieve a Mickey Mouse Beach Ball for Cath; plucked Tim from an 8 foot snow drift during the blizzard of ’78; and attended many hockey games in the 1980s wearing his trademark loafers and Gorky Park fur hat, to Andrew’s lasting horror.
Bob was a man of many interests: He made doughnuts, bread, and brownies from scratch; his “Daddy Bob’s Pancakes” recipe is justly famous. He loved both the Texaco Radio Opera and the Hillbilly at Harvard show. He read history, mysteries, and P.G. Wodehouse voraciously.
In 1982, Bob moved to Sherin & Lodgen, LLP where he spent the rest of his long career. He established a reputation for maintaining the highest professional standards and for being the most collegial (Judge Kass always said “most theatrical”) lawyer in Boston. For many years, Bob was a member of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners and was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. He became a member of the Tavern Club and the Curtis Club, and received mixed reviews for his performances as a Bear and later, a Redcoat, in their amateur theatricals. Throughout it all, he ate at Lockober more often than can really have been pleasant.
Bob was devoted to Catholic-Jewish relations and was awarded the Judge Learned Hand Award by the American Jewish Committee; to crown his career, he received the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Gold Medal Award in 2017, which he dedicated to our Mom.
In his later years, Bob enjoyed the company of his grandsons, Aidan and Rory, both of whom he always called “Old Boy,” even as infants. He became the biggest fan of his son-in-law Tom Lawton and often asked Catherine, “How on earth did you find someone so wonderful?” which we know he meant kindly.
Bob never lost his ability to make friends, in particular with Stephanie Tocantins and Agnes Nagawa, who helped care for him with love and compassion. We are so grateful to them and also to all the wonderful staff members, aides, nurses, and administrators of Belmont Manor, for their kindness in his final years.
Bob was a devoted brother to his siblings James, Mary, and John Muldoon; he was an uncle and great-uncle to many nieces and nephews and was a mentor to a great many members of the legal community.
“It’s a poor heart that never rejoices!” was what Bob declared whenever an opportunity for indulgence occurred, and all three of us (and Tom!) say it to this day. Bob Muldoon’s heart was anything but poor; we rejoice and are grateful to have loved him and to have learned from his example.
To protect those most vulnerable, we respectfully request that masks be worn to services.
In lieu of flowers, we would be most grateful for gifts to BC High, designating the scholarship established in Bob’s parents’ names (Robert J. and Catherine E. Muldoon Fund, #7067), c/o the Office for Institutional Advancement, Boston College High School, 150 Morrissey Blvd Boston, MA 02125) or to the MA/NH Alzheimer’s Association (309 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452).
Bob attended St. Clement’s School and then BC High which inspired everything he did throughout his life. He joined the novitiate class of the Society of Jesus at Shadowbrook in Lenox, MA immediately after high school. The friendships he made at Shadowbrook continue to this day. After leaving the Society, Bob attended BC Law, thus becoming the rarest of birds, a quadruple Eagle (counting degrees conferred by BC while he was in the seminary).
Bob clerked for the Hon. Paul G. Kirk at the SJC of Massachusetts before embarking on his career at Withington, Cross, Park & Grodin. Among many notable cases, Bob and his great friend Rudy Kass successfully represented the residents of Arlington against the MA Department of Public Works to prevent Spy Pond being filled in to expand Route 2.
Bob met Barbara Mooney in 1966; they married two years later. They welcomed son Andrew in 1969, and were nonplussed/delighted by the premature arrival of twins Catherine and Timothy in 1971.
As a Dad, Bob was, (how to put this tactfully), unusual. He had a tendency to quote from King Lear, particularly on long car rides. (“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth is an ungrateful child!”) But his heroic side always shone through: he swam far out into the ocean to retrieve a Mickey Mouse Beach Ball for Cath; plucked Tim from an 8 foot snow drift during the blizzard of ’78; and attended many hockey games in the 1980s wearing his trademark loafers and Gorky Park fur hat, to Andrew’s lasting horror.
Bob was a man of many interests: He made doughnuts, bread, and brownies from scratch; his “Daddy Bob’s Pancakes” recipe is justly famous. He loved both the Texaco Radio Opera and the Hillbilly at Harvard show. He read history, mysteries, and P.G. Wodehouse voraciously.
In 1982, Bob moved to Sherin & Lodgen, LLP where he spent the rest of his long career. He established a reputation for maintaining the highest professional standards and for being the most collegial (Judge Kass always said “most theatrical”) lawyer in Boston. For many years, Bob was a member of the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners and was elected to the American College of Trial Lawyers. He became a member of the Tavern Club and the Curtis Club, and received mixed reviews for his performances as a Bear and later, a Redcoat, in their amateur theatricals. Throughout it all, he ate at Lockober more often than can really have been pleasant.
Bob was devoted to Catholic-Jewish relations and was awarded the Judge Learned Hand Award by the American Jewish Committee; to crown his career, he received the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Gold Medal Award in 2017, which he dedicated to our Mom.
In his later years, Bob enjoyed the company of his grandsons, Aidan and Rory, both of whom he always called “Old Boy,” even as infants. He became the biggest fan of his son-in-law Tom Lawton and often asked Catherine, “How on earth did you find someone so wonderful?” which we know he meant kindly.
Bob never lost his ability to make friends, in particular with Stephanie Tocantins and Agnes Nagawa, who helped care for him with love and compassion. We are so grateful to them and also to all the wonderful staff members, aides, nurses, and administrators of Belmont Manor, for their kindness in his final years.
Bob was a devoted brother to his siblings James, Mary, and John Muldoon; he was an uncle and great-uncle to many nieces and nephews and was a mentor to a great many members of the legal community.
“It’s a poor heart that never rejoices!” was what Bob declared whenever an opportunity for indulgence occurred, and all three of us (and Tom!) say it to this day. Bob Muldoon’s heart was anything but poor; we rejoice and are grateful to have loved him and to have learned from his example.
To protect those most vulnerable, we respectfully request that masks be worn to services.
In lieu of flowers, we would be most grateful for gifts to BC High, designating the scholarship established in Bob’s parents’ names (Robert J. and Catherine E. Muldoon Fund, #7067), c/o the Office for Institutional Advancement, Boston College High School, 150 Morrissey Blvd Boston, MA 02125) or to the MA/NH Alzheimer’s Association (309 Waverley Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452).