George Michaels

George Michaels, age 88, of Naples, FL, formerly of Boston & Westport, MA, on Friday, March 9, 2012. He was married to Madeleine, a French lady who came to the United States originally as a Fulbright scholar. He leaves a daughter, Julia, who lives in Brazil and her three children Elliot, Nicole and Gabriel. Formerly Julia was the South American stringer for the Wall Street Journal and a staff member of the Christian Science Monitor. She is now a blogger in Rio. His second daughter, Faith, a former TV producer of children’s programs in Boston and now a landscape designer, lives with her husband Mitchell and their three children Alexander, Nicholas and Olivia in Brookline, MA. He also leaves two step-sons, Mathieu and David Berman, in Nashville, TN.

Services at The Levine Chapels, 470 Harvard Street, Brookline on Tuesday, March 13 at 11am. Burial to follow in Sharon Memorial Park, Sharon. Family & friends are invited to the home of the Dynan family following the burial until 6pm.

Born in the Roxbury section of Boston, he and his wife Madeleine retired to Naples, Florida in 1995. George was a graduate of the Boston University School of Law where he was a lifetime member of the Executive Committee. The school awarded him the Silver Shingle for Distinguished Service. The school conferred upon him membership in the Owen D. Young Society. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Classic Chamber Concerts in Naples. He was past President of the Naples Council on World Affairs (2002-2004) and a member of the Board of Directors where he chaired the Program Committee. He was also a member of the Forum Club of Naples.

He was a former combat infantryman- Normandy to Bastogne. As a member of the 50th Armored Infantry Battalion of the Sixth Armored Division, he was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, the sharpshooter designation and three battle stars, for Northern France, the Rhineland and the Ardennes. He was a member of the Jewish War Veterans.

On May 13, 2008, he was awarded the Legion of Honor by the President of France. The award cited “France’s true and unforgettable gratitude and appreciation for your personal, precious contribution to the United States decisive role in the liberation of our country during World War II”.

He was an Assistant Attorney General and Republican candidate for Attorney General in Massachusetts. He served on several Massachusetts state government commissions. He was a guest lecturer (1982-85) at Harvard School of Design “Entrepreneurial Structures” and in Moscow (1995) “Russian-American Entrepreneurial Workshop on Defense Technology Conversion”. He was a Massachusetts Trustee of Common Cause (1990-95). In the last years of his practice with Edwards&Angell (now Edwards Wildman), he concentrated on areas of telecommunications and start-up technological companies. Among his communications clients were Metro-media, Southwestern Bell and numerous privately owned cellular companies. He was a voluntary member of the Institutional Review Board at Abt Associates, whose job is was to make sure all human subjects who submit to government research programs will have their records kept confidential and that they are fully informed of the nature of the research before they consent to the research. He was a member of the Board at Abt Associates, a leading think-tank.

Contributions in his honor may be made to Michaels Faculty Research Foundation, Boston University School of Law, Esdaile Alumni Center, 765 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215.