William J. Gearon

Newport, RI - Attorney William J. Gearon, 90, of Berkeley Terrace, Newport, RI passed away on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at the Village House Nursing Home in Newport.He was the beloved husband of Esther OGara Gearon for sixty-three years.Born in Woonsocket, RI on December 4, 1917, he was the son of the late Dr. Jeremiah J. Gearon and Julia Sharkey Gearon.Besides his wife, he leaves behind his daughter, Geraldine G. Oakley and husband Daniel of Newport, a son, William J. Gearon, Jr. of Newport, along with his grandchildren, Daniel J. Oakley, Kathryn A. Gearon and Megan A. Gearon.Mr. Gearon attended Belmont Abbey College and graduated from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. While in undergraduate school, he was a golden gloves boxer on the boxing team known as Ghost Gearon. He decided on a law career and was a graduate of Georgetown University Law School.In his law career, he was a city solicitor for the City of Woonsocket, a Probate Court Judge, and served ten years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorneys office in Providence. He was a member of the Rhode Island and Massachusetts Bar Associations.He also was a partner in the law firm of Keough, Parker and Gearon with his cherished friends Joseph A. Keough and Edward Parker.A lifelong Democrat, he also served in the Rhode Island legislature as a State Senator representing the City of Woonsocket. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus as a member of St. Charles Church in Woonsocket.He proudly served as an officer for eight years in the Navy at the rank of Lt. Commander being a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. Later, he was post commander of the Harold Flynn VFW Post of Woonsocket, RI. He was also a member of the Newport Naval War College Foundation. He was legal advisor to the USS Hoggatt Bay Reunion Committee.Funeral services will be held Thursday, April 17, 2008 at 8 am from the Hambly Funeral Home, 30 Red Cross Avenue, Newport, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9 am in St. Marys Church, Williams and Spring Streets, Newport. Burial with military honors will be in RI Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, RI.Visiting hours will be on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 from 4-7 pm in the funeral home.