Richard P. Vacco

Richard P. Vacco, 80, of China Village, Maine, a long-time resident of Londonderry, N.H., passed away on Monday, August 16, 2021, after a period of failing health.

Born in Bridgeport, Conn., the son of Pasquale and Mary (Gynowicz) Vacco, he graduated from Central High School in Bridgeport, Conn. and Colby College, where he was a member of the football team. He went on to Suffolk University Law School where he graduated first in his class and was editor of The Suffolk Law Review.

Mr. Vacco was a member of both the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bar Associations, and had a private law practice in Londonderry. In 1980, he was sworn into the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. He taught thousands of students as a professor at Suffolk University Law School over 43 years, and was always known and appreciated for his sense of humor and ability to balance it with rigorous instruction of the law.

He took particular interest over the years in the activities of his children as well as his six grandchildren. He served in many volunteer roles during his lifetime, with organizations such as Little League baseball, Boy Scouts of America, The Rotary Club, and the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Nashua. Dick had varied interests, including model trains, maintaining his home and pool, karate, and the New England Patriots.

He welcomed everyone into his home, and would often extend invitations to those who did not have plans for the holidays to join him and his family.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marjeanne (Banks) Vacco; a son, Jeffrey Vacco and his wife Elizabeth (Harris) of Pembroke, N.H.; a daughter, Kristin McCool and her husband Joseph of Amherst, N.H.; and six grandchildren: Lindsay, Erin, Matthew, and Sean McCool, and Nicholas and Hannah Vacco. He also leaves behind a brother, Roger Vacco, and his wife Ellen and their family.

Services will be private.

Arrangements are entrusted with Wheeler Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 26 Church Street, Maine. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Wheeler Funeral Home website: www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to MaineGeneral Hospice, https://give.mainegeneral.org/hospice

To mail a donation directly to MaineGeneral Hospice, please send it to:

P.O. Box 828, Waterville, ME 04903-0828

LINKS

Staples Funeral Home

http://www.staplesfuneralhome.com

The Union Leader Memoriams

http://www.unionleader.com