Paul J. Lahey

Paul J. Lahey, 60, of Hartford, passed away on October 26, 2009. He was the son of the late Dr. William J. Lahey and Phyllis Donlon Lahey. Paul grew up in West Hartford and attended the Kingswood School, Georgetown University, and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He served as an assistant attorney general from 1980 to 2003. During his career, Paul's practice focused on health care law and he was considered an expert by his colleagues on administrative law. His thorough and skilled practice was reflected in the success he achieved in eleven cases argued before the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts. Paul's service to his clients also included his valued counsel and advice to numerous health care professional licensing boards and state officials. Throughout his career in the office, he mentored many young lawyers and his guidance was always delivered with dedication, warmth and a sense of humor. Paul's life was characterized by generosity, wit, humility, and bravery in the face of a lengthy, debilitating illness. His happiest times were childhood summers at Hawk's Nest Beach, family gatherings with his cousins in Storrs, working at St. Francis Hospital as a young man, poker games with his buddies, and the rare triumphs of the Boston Red Sox. He will be lovingly remembered and greatly missed by those who survive him: his sisters, Judith A. Lahey and her partner Judy Pflum of East Haddam, CT; Sara M. Lahey of West Hartford; Margaret A. Lahey of Wakefield, MA; and his brother Michael J. Lahey of Troutdale, OR. He loved his aunt, Beverly Kelleher of Avon, CT, all his cousins, his neices Kristen DiGravio and her husband Dan, of Plymouth, MA, Sara Lahey of Boston, MA, and his nephew Ryan Lahey and his wife, Leah, of St. Augustine, FL. Paul was preceded in death by his brother Bill and Bill's wife Kathe Kelty Lahey. The family would like to acknowledge Paul's great friends Dan Shapiro, Henry Salton, and Tom Ring and thank them for the loyalty and support which they unfailingly gave to Paul. We know that he will be missed by them and by his former colleagues at the Attorney General's office. Contributions in Paul's name may be made to the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome Association of America.