Obituaries

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Boston lawyer Christopher P. Kauders died on July 31 of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 65.

Born in Salem, Kauders was the youngest son of Czech immigrants who escaped the Nazi invasion of Prague. His father, Erick Kauders, was co-inventor of the projectile portion of the rocket launcher known as the bazooka.

Kauders earned his law and business degrees from Boston College. After practicing law at Bank of Boston, he founded Pre-Trial Solutions, where he spent 25 years as a mediator and arbitrator. He brought his legal expertise to his work on the boards of the Chestnut Hill School, The University Club of Boston, Freedom Scientific, and as president and member of the Frank J. Murray Inn of Court.

Kauders and his older sister lived with the genetic eye condition Retinitis Pigmentosa, which rendered them legally blind from birth. A lifelong advocate for the blindness community, he sat on the boards of the Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey (the country’s first guide dog school), the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. At the appointment of Gov. Deval L. Patrick, he served on the advisory board to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

In 2016, Kauders filed suit against Uber Technologies after three drivers denied him service because he used a Seeing Eye dog. In 2021, Kauders v. Uber received a landmark ruling in the Supreme Judicial Court about the formation of online contracts.

With a Seeing Eye dog to accompany him (he had five over the years: Sonya, Beecher, Rudy, Theo and Wally), Kauders navigated the city handily, traveling between his office in Post Office Square and the University Club pool, where he swam nightly laps as his dog walked dutifully up and down the lane. He had said he imagined heaven as a place where he would reunite with all his dogs over a cold beer.

Kauders was a sailor and a horseman who made yearly visits to the Flying E Ranch in Arizona.

A. Jeffrey Dando, a longtime Boston real estate attorney, died at his West Tisbury home on July 18 after a long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 82.

He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1964, after which he began his legal career in Boston at Bingham, Dana & Gould. He moved on to Goodwin, Procter & Hoar in 1967, becoming a partner in 1973.

Dando was instrumental in significant real estate projects in Boston, such as Copley Place, where he set the legal precedent for resolving complex issues related to control of air rights; Harbor Point, where he helped to transform a troubled public housing project into a thriving mixed-income community; and the Charlestown Navy Yard, where he helped to achieve the successful redevelopment of surplus federal property on the Boston waterfront.

As hiring partner at Goodwin for several years, he was a valued mentor to many young lawyers. In the last five years of his career, he was the firm’s managing partner. He retired in 1998.

Francis X. Ridge Jr., age 77, of Plymouth, passed away on July 26.

In the late 1960s, Ridge entered the U.S. Army. As a cryptography specialist, he served with the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.

After his honorable discharge, he worked his way through college and law school, earning undergraduate and law degrees at Suffolk University.

After passing the bar exam, he was a corporate lawyer at Grass Instrument Co. of Quincy, later becoming an independent consultant.

Ralph F. Cahill, 86, died on July 23 at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.

A resident of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, he spent his summers in West Yarmouth. He had previously resided in Franklin for 10 years, and prior to that in Medfield for 30 years.

Cahill earned his degree from Boston University School of Law.

He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War for three years as a Judge Advocate General. Before his retirement, he was general counsel for the Boston Redevelopment Authority for 30 years.

Thomas E. Norton Jr. of Hanover passed away on Aug. 5.

He graduated from Suffolk University Law School, going on to practice at his own firm, Kirby, Trainor & Norton before joining the District Attorney’s Office. He later was named chief of the Criminal Bureau at the Attorney General’s Office.

Howard I. Goldstein, 73, of Newton, passed away on July 29 after a lengthy struggle with prostate cancer.

He was a family law attorney for decades at his firm, Goldstein & Bilodeau, where he practiced collaborative law.

After his initial cancer diagnosis in 2007, he became an advocate for funding for prostate cancer research and awareness, working to ensure that adequate testing and early detection tools were available in all communities. He also served on the board of Oneinforty, a nonprofit that raises awareness about the risk of inheriting BRCA gene mutations (which he had and made his cancer far more challenging to treat).

He was also a political volunteer and advocate. His work in politics over the decades brought him into the trenches of campaigns from Bobby Kennedy to Father Robert Drinan to Govs. Michael Dukakis and Deval Patrick, and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.

Donald “Willis” Blakesley, 71, of Agawam and East Dennis, passed away on July 30.

He was born in Springfield and grew up in Agawam, graduating from Agawam High School where he earned the distinction of “class wit,” a defining characteristic he perfected throughout the remainder of his life.

After college, Blakesley went to work full time at Travelers Insurance Co. while also attending Western New England College School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 1978.

Soon thereafter, he began a long career as an attorney, ultimately becoming a partner at the Springfield firm of Pellegrini & Seeley, now known as Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley.

Blakesley also spent 10 years as an adjunct professor of law at Western New England College, teaching the school’s only course in workers’ compensation law.

He completed three marathons and was an avid golfer.