Paul Markham obit

 Paul Markham obit

He was not on the list.

Paul F. Markham passed away at Brooksby Village in Peabody on July 13, 2019, he was 89 years of age. Paul F Markham was blessed with a large and loving family. He is survived by his wife Claire, whom he met on the beach in Gloucester nearly 70 years ago, his children Ellen, Jane, Susan, Paul, John and Mary, his grandchildren Mira and Julia, May and Sean, Paul and Lauren, Jimmy and Owen, Nina and Jude. A longtime Melrose resident, Paul moved to Brooksby Village in Peabody three years ago with Claire, a perfect way to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

Paul attended Georgetown Preparatory School, Villanova University, and Boston University School of Law. He was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1958. Paul was appointed Assistant United States Attorney by Senator Robert Kennedy in 1964 and in 1966 became the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He remained the U.S. Attorney until 1969 when he resigned to work in private practice . He completed many a crossword puzzle on his daily commute on the Orange Line from Oak Grove to his State Street office until he retired from practicing law in 2004.

Paul was well liked by all. He would always be willing to help someone whether family, friends, friends of friends, relatives, and neighbors; it did not matter he would always find time to help. Paul will be greatly missed by his loving wife, six children, ten grandchildren as well as his countless friends and extended family.

Markham was present on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, on the night leading up to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. According to the testimony of Ted Kennedy, after the accident, he, Markham, and Joseph Gargan returned to the waterway to try to rescue Kopechne. Markham testified that Kennedy was sobbing and on the verge of becoming crazed. The next day Gargan and Markham joined Kennedy at his hotel where they had a "heated conversation" over the fact that Kennedy had not reported the accident.

In an October 15, 1994 interview for Ronald Kessler’s book The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded, Gargan said that when he and Markham returned to the scene of the accident with Kennedy, they both urged Kennedy to report the accident to the police. Gargan told Kessler, a former Washington Post reporter. "The conversation was brief about having to report," Gargan told Kessler for the book. "I was insistent on it. Paul Markham was backing me up on it. Ted said, `Okay, okay, Joey, okay. I've got the point, I've got the point.' Then he took a few steps and dove into the water, leaving Markham and I expecting that he would carry out the conversation." But Kennedy did not report the matter to the police until later in the morning, Kessler’s book notes.

After Kopechne's body was discovered, Kennedy dictated a statement to Markham which was then given to the police.

He was portrayed by Jim Gaffigan in the 2017 film of the same name.