Family, friends bid final farewell to pioneering DA and Congressman Bill Delahunt

QUINCY – Dignitaries from the worlds of law and politics converged on Dorchester Avenue Saturday morning to remember seven-term U.S. congressman and pioneering Norfolk County District Attorney Bill Delahunt.

Among those who gathered for the funeral Mass at St. Gregory Parish Church were former Secretary of State John Kerry, Sen. Ed Markey, Representatives Jim McGovern, Stephen Lynch and Bill Keating and former congressman Joe Kennedy III, State House Speaker Ron Mariano, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch and others.

Delahunt, 82, died peacefully at his Quincy home Saturday, March 30, after a longtime illness, his family said in a statement.

Delahunt's youngest daughter, Kara Delahunt Bobrov, of Milton, remembered her father as someone who "always sought to find common ground with people" and made everyone he met feel "special and worthy."

"I'm the one who looks like him," she said, drawing laughter from those at the service. Bobrov, who was adopted, came to the United States as a child from Vietnam. In 2000, Delahunt helped pass a bill that gave automatic citizenship to adoptees born overseas.

Also offering words of remembrance was District Court Judge Marianne Hinkle, who served under Delahunt as an assistant district attorney. Hinkle said she visited Delahunt two months ago in his Quincy home.

Despite his illness, Hinkle said Delahunt discussed a new idea to bring emergency care to people's homes and alleviate stress on overburdened emergency rooms.

"He was so ill but so engaged and enthusiastic," Hinkle said.

According to Hinkle, an outline of the initiative has been completed and a pilot program will be rolled out in a few weeks.

"That is quintessential Bill," she said.

Last to speak was Timothy Flaherty, another former assistant district attorney who served under Delahunt. Flaherty focused on Delahunt's accomplishments as district attorney, including his creation of civil rights, domestic violence and sexual assault units.

Delahunt's simple rule as district attorney was not to win cases but "do the right thing," Flaherty said.

Tearing up, Flaherty concluded his remarks by saying that Delahunt more than anything wished to "make us a little happier and make our lives a little bit better."

Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch remembers Delahunt as a statesman who was proud of his native city

"He put people first," said Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch. "He knew it was about getting the job done. We need more Bill Delahunts nationally to get beyond the acrimony. We need more statesmen."

This spirit of cooperation at times produced unlikely partnerships. In Congress, Delahunt negotiated with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez to get low-income Massachusetts families cheaper oil for heating their homes, after similar asks to American oil companies were fruitless, according to an obituary published by The Washington Post.

Delahunt served as congressman for 14 years, from 1997 to 2011, representing the state's 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A Quincy native, he served as Norfolk County district attorney from 1975 to 1996 and had served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975. Before that he completed one term on Quincy City Council, representing the city's fifth ward.

"He loved Quincy, the history of Quincy," Koch said, recalling how Delahunt like to remind people that he was the first congressman from Quincy to serve since John Quincy Adams.

Koch noted how Delahunt pioneered a number of programs while district attorney that have since taken hold across the country. For instance, he created a unit specializing in handling domestic violence and sexual assault cases.

"Prior to that, women didn't have much protection," Koch said. "He changed that big time forever."

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Former U.S. Rep. Bill Delahunt remembered for spirit of cooperation