WORCESTER-Philip Redmond Monahan, 95, of Worcester died Sunday, November 14th in UMass Memorial Medical Center – Memorial Campus. He leaves several nephews and nieces, Eileen (Reavey) Mittelholzer, Carol (Blackmer) Creen, Paul W. Blackmer, David M. Blackmer, Joyce (Blackmer) Marsden, Lynne (Blackmer) Long, Janice (Monahan) Stalmok, Joan (Monahan) Spind, Claire (Monahan) Allen, Carol (Monahan) Tisdell, Ellen McCauley and John Scott McCauley; 30 grandnieces and nephews and one great grandniece. He was predeceased by his siblings, Helen Reavey, George F. Monahan, Grace Monahan, Ruth Blackmer, Mary G. Monahan, Frances McCauley, two nephews, Edwin Reavey, Jr. and George R. Monahan; a niece, Suzanne (Blackmer) Kasper and three grandnieces and grandnephews.
Mr. Monahan was born on October 12, 1915 in Worcester the son of George T. and Helena (Donovan) Monahan. Philip graduated South High School in Worcester in 1933. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1937 from the College of the Holy Cross and earned a law degree from Catholic University Law School in 1940. He also attended the University of Michigan Law School where he received an LLM in 1941. Phil was a life-long swimmer and belonged to the YMCA of Greater Worcester on Main Street.
During World War II, Philip joined the Navy and attended the U.S. Navy Japanese Oriental Language School at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was deployed in the South Pacific in the Office of Naval Intelligence Japanese Language Division as a Japanese translator and had attained the rank of Lieutenant upon his discharge.
Philip worked for over thirty years at the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice. While there, he briefed and argued cases on behalf of the Federal Government before the United States Supreme Court, including during the tenure of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Upon his retirement in 1974, he volunteered for a year as a lawyer with Common Cause, a nonprofit citizen’s lobbing organization promoting open, honest and accountable government.
The family would like to extend their gratitude to Dodge Park Rest Home in Worcester for their exceptional and dedicated care of Phil.
The funeral is on Friday, November 19th from O’CONNOR BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME, 592 Park Avenue with a Mass at 10:00 AM in Our Lady of the Angels Church, 1222 Main Street. Burial will be in Saint John’s Cemetery. Calling hours are Thursday, November 18th from 4:00 until 7:00 PM in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Our Lady of the Angels Church, 1222 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01603.