Obituary for Lawrence A. Quigley, PhD
Lawrence A. “Larry” Quigley, PhD, retired educator, author of scholarly articles, presenter at professional conferences and community volunteer, died Thursday, April 15, 2021 at the Lahey Clinic Medical Center. He was 88.
Born in New Rochelle, NY, he was the son of the late Lawrence F. and Elizabeth C. (Farrell) Quigley. A graduate of Iona Prep where he was class president all four years and salutatorian, he earned scholarships to Notre Dame, Yale, Iona and Fordham. He entered the Christian Brothers, with whom he served for 18 years, and was a summa cum laude graduate from Iona College, winning the English Medal.
A born educator, Dr. Quigley’s career spanned 28 years starting as a first-grade teacher and Guidance Director at All Hallows School in the East Bronx, NY, Principal of Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, NY and then Supervisor of Instruction at 25 Christian Brothers’ elementary and high schools in the Eastern US. In 1969 he landed a position as an Associate Professor at Fitchburg State College in MA, and within six years was the college’s Executive Vice President and Academic Dean. From 1977 to 1981 he held Deputy Chancellor position for the MA State College System in Boston, and was named Deputy Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer at Westfield State, Westfield, MA, and the Commonwealth Career Center for High Tech/Education in Dover. In his final 7 years of his academic career, he served as a Professor, Software Implementation Chair and English Department Chair at Fitchburg State.
Dr. Quigley was the recipient of numerous honors and professional awards, including the Distinguished Service Award, one several honors awarded by Fitchburg State. Dr. Quigley was named to the Outstanding Educators of America, elected to the Harvard Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, the Patroon Award for outstanding citizenship granted by the Mayor of Schenectady. His Alma Mater honored Dr. Quigley in 1977 with its Br. Arthur Loftus Alumni Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Education.”
Dr. Quigley was a mentor to many through the years and worked tirelessly with federal, state and local government agencies to improve education, and his ties to business and industry benefited students, employees and employers alike. He successfully sponsored students for the Young American Medal for Service, a Presidential and Congressional Award, and he developed in-house programs for Raytheon and Bell Canada. As CEO of the Commonwealth Career Center, he supervised the implementation of contracts with 34 corporations doing business in Massachusetts, as well as those connected with research and development in the MA State College System. He also negotiated contracts for 600 state college students for internships with 35 federal agencies over a three-year period. It is estimated that over a period of 40 years he counseled over 1000 people in his communities, all pro bono.
In 1982, Dr. Quigley began a part-time career at the Concord Auto Auction in Acton. By 1990 he was working for ADESA Auctions Boston in Acton and Framingham, where he held positions including Dealer Relations Director, Director of Marketing and Sales, and Vice President of Marketing and Sales until his retirement in 2003. He served for seven years on the Board of Directors of the MA Independent Auto Dealers Association where he was a member of the Legislative Committee, and initiated and chaired the Scholarship Committee and the Ethics Committee. Hundreds of students connected to the MIADA have received college scholarships, and with his oversight the organization was admitted to the prestigious Ethics Officer Association.
He also loved to contribute his time, talent and energies to a wide range of community groups and organizations, many for decades. These include Harvard Admissions and Scholarship Committee, Emerson Hospital Board of Corporators and Development Committee Vice Chair, former President and Campaign Chair for the United Way of Central MA, Fitchburg Savings Bank Board of Advisory Trustees, the Governor’s Bay State Skills Corporation Task Force, former Vice President of the US Office of Economic Opportunity’s Montachusett Council, and a former member of the Archdiocese of Boston Pastoral Council.
In the Town of Acton, Dr. Quigley was a member and former President of the Minuteman Ridge Homeowners Association Board former member and President of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (Acton) Pastoral Council, Building Committee and Administrative Commission, and eucharistic minister and religious educator, served on the Board of Directors for Act/Tunes Inc. Youth Theatre, was co-founder and co-chair of the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Parent Teacher Student Organization.
Dr. Quigley and his family have also worked closely with the Boomer Esiason Foundation, establishing the Rosemary Quigley Endowment in loving memory of their beloved daughter and sister, Rosemary Quigley-Harris, a Harvard University, magna cum laude graduate and Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics, who died at age 33 in 2004.
Dr. Quigley is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years, Mary Beth (Meaney); their daughter Anne Corkery, her husband Brian & their children Grace, Casey & Emma, all of Acton; and a sister Marie Marshall of Florida.
Public visiting hours are Wednesday, April 21st from 5:00-7:00pm at the Acton Funeral Home, 470 Massachusetts Ave (Rte 111) Acton. Masks are required & social distancing will be observed.
In person attendance at the funeral Mass in Holy Family Church, Concord, is not possible due to pandemic capacity restrictions, however all are welcome to watch the live stream on Thursday, April 22nd at 10:00am by visiting https://cc-catholic.org/ & selecting “Holy Family Live Stream.” Burial in Woodlawn Cemetery, Acton Center is private.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be made to either the Rosemary Quigley Memorial Scholarship, Boomer Esiason Foundation, PO Box 28819, NY, NY 10087-8819, online at esiason.org/donate, specifying “Rosemary Quigley Memorial Scholarship,” or to the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers Foundation, attn. Richard Carter-Assoc. Director, 260 Wilmot Rd., New Rochelle, NY 01804, online at ercbna.org/Christian_Brothers.php?op+Support_our_Ministries.
Memorial page actonfuneralhome.com
Born in New Rochelle, NY, he was the son of the late Lawrence F. and Elizabeth C. (Farrell) Quigley. A graduate of Iona Prep where he was class president all four years and salutatorian, he earned scholarships to Notre Dame, Yale, Iona and Fordham. He entered the Christian Brothers, with whom he served for 18 years, and was a summa cum laude graduate from Iona College, winning the English Medal.
A born educator, Dr. Quigley’s career spanned 28 years starting as a first-grade teacher and Guidance Director at All Hallows School in the East Bronx, NY, Principal of Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, NY and then Supervisor of Instruction at 25 Christian Brothers’ elementary and high schools in the Eastern US. In 1969 he landed a position as an Associate Professor at Fitchburg State College in MA, and within six years was the college’s Executive Vice President and Academic Dean. From 1977 to 1981 he held Deputy Chancellor position for the MA State College System in Boston, and was named Deputy Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer at Westfield State, Westfield, MA, and the Commonwealth Career Center for High Tech/Education in Dover. In his final 7 years of his academic career, he served as a Professor, Software Implementation Chair and English Department Chair at Fitchburg State.
Dr. Quigley was the recipient of numerous honors and professional awards, including the Distinguished Service Award, one several honors awarded by Fitchburg State. Dr. Quigley was named to the Outstanding Educators of America, elected to the Harvard Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, the Patroon Award for outstanding citizenship granted by the Mayor of Schenectady. His Alma Mater honored Dr. Quigley in 1977 with its Br. Arthur Loftus Alumni Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Education.”
Dr. Quigley was a mentor to many through the years and worked tirelessly with federal, state and local government agencies to improve education, and his ties to business and industry benefited students, employees and employers alike. He successfully sponsored students for the Young American Medal for Service, a Presidential and Congressional Award, and he developed in-house programs for Raytheon and Bell Canada. As CEO of the Commonwealth Career Center, he supervised the implementation of contracts with 34 corporations doing business in Massachusetts, as well as those connected with research and development in the MA State College System. He also negotiated contracts for 600 state college students for internships with 35 federal agencies over a three-year period. It is estimated that over a period of 40 years he counseled over 1000 people in his communities, all pro bono.
In 1982, Dr. Quigley began a part-time career at the Concord Auto Auction in Acton. By 1990 he was working for ADESA Auctions Boston in Acton and Framingham, where he held positions including Dealer Relations Director, Director of Marketing and Sales, and Vice President of Marketing and Sales until his retirement in 2003. He served for seven years on the Board of Directors of the MA Independent Auto Dealers Association where he was a member of the Legislative Committee, and initiated and chaired the Scholarship Committee and the Ethics Committee. Hundreds of students connected to the MIADA have received college scholarships, and with his oversight the organization was admitted to the prestigious Ethics Officer Association.
He also loved to contribute his time, talent and energies to a wide range of community groups and organizations, many for decades. These include Harvard Admissions and Scholarship Committee, Emerson Hospital Board of Corporators and Development Committee Vice Chair, former President and Campaign Chair for the United Way of Central MA, Fitchburg Savings Bank Board of Advisory Trustees, the Governor’s Bay State Skills Corporation Task Force, former Vice President of the US Office of Economic Opportunity’s Montachusett Council, and a former member of the Archdiocese of Boston Pastoral Council.
In the Town of Acton, Dr. Quigley was a member and former President of the Minuteman Ridge Homeowners Association Board former member and President of St. Elizabeth of Hungary (Acton) Pastoral Council, Building Committee and Administrative Commission, and eucharistic minister and religious educator, served on the Board of Directors for Act/Tunes Inc. Youth Theatre, was co-founder and co-chair of the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Parent Teacher Student Organization.
Dr. Quigley and his family have also worked closely with the Boomer Esiason Foundation, establishing the Rosemary Quigley Endowment in loving memory of their beloved daughter and sister, Rosemary Quigley-Harris, a Harvard University, magna cum laude graduate and Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics, who died at age 33 in 2004.
Dr. Quigley is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years, Mary Beth (Meaney); their daughter Anne Corkery, her husband Brian & their children Grace, Casey & Emma, all of Acton; and a sister Marie Marshall of Florida.
Public visiting hours are Wednesday, April 21st from 5:00-7:00pm at the Acton Funeral Home, 470 Massachusetts Ave (Rte 111) Acton. Masks are required & social distancing will be observed.
In person attendance at the funeral Mass in Holy Family Church, Concord, is not possible due to pandemic capacity restrictions, however all are welcome to watch the live stream on Thursday, April 22nd at 10:00am by visiting https://cc-catholic.org/ & selecting “Holy Family Live Stream.” Burial in Woodlawn Cemetery, Acton Center is private.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be made to either the Rosemary Quigley Memorial Scholarship, Boomer Esiason Foundation, PO Box 28819, NY, NY 10087-8819, online at esiason.org/donate, specifying “Rosemary Quigley Memorial Scholarship,” or to the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers Foundation, attn. Richard Carter-Assoc. Director, 260 Wilmot Rd., New Rochelle, NY 01804, online at ercbna.org/Christian_Brothers.php?op+Support_our_Ministries.
Memorial page actonfuneralhome.com