Bancroft "Nick" Littlefield Jr.

Nick Littlefield died Feb. 4 at age 74 in his home in Cambridge, MA from complications of multiple system atrophy. Born August, 6, 1942 in Providence, Rhode Island, Nick attended Milton Academy and Harvard College '64. After a successful year in New York working as an actor on Broadway, Nick received an LLB in 1968 from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and went on to study at the London School of Economics. He joined the firm of Hughes, Hubbard, and Reed in New York in 1969 and served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York from 1972 to 1976. Returning to Boston, he taught at Harvard Law School, and from 1978 to 1980 was the Chief Counsel to the Massachusetts Special Anti-Corruption Commission (the Ward Commission). In 1982 he joined the firm of Foley Hoag and Eliot (now Foley Hoag) and remained there until 1989 when he went to Washington to work for Senator Edward M. Kennedy as staff director of the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Returning to Boston in 1998, he led the Government Strategies Group at Foley Hoag until his retirement in 2013. With the enormous energy and enthusiasm he brought to everything, he became an amateur painter, continued to play tennis and run until his illness made these impossible, and completed (along with David Nexon) a book which he had started writing right after leaving the Senate. "Lion of the Senate; when Ted Kennedy Rallied the Democrats in a GOP Congress," was published in 2015 with an introduction by Doris Kearns Goodwin who wrote: " Historians, students and general readers alike will read and revel in this splendid book for generations to come." A Memorial service will be held at Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday, March 3rd, 2017, at 11 o'clock am. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Nick's name can be made to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate – an institution Nick helped to found and which he passionately supported for its role in educating people of all ages about the unique and exciting role of the United States Senate in our democracy. EMK Institute for the United States Senate, Columbia Point, 210 Morrissey Blvd. Boston, MA, 02125 Nick devoted his career to causes he believed in: justice, good government, and health care for all. He is survived by his wife, Jenny; children, Frank, Tom, and Kate Lowenstein; sisters, Anne Littlefield and Mary Littlefield, and six grandchildren. His kindness, generosity, optimism and determination were the source of guidance, inspiration, and joy for all those who knew him, and his actions touched the lives of many who would never meet him. He will be deeply missed.