John Backes Lavecchia, Sr.

John Backes LaVecchia, Sr. went to his eternal rest on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at age 92. He was born on February 4, 1932, to Nicholas and Mary LaVecchia. He was their only son but had a half-brother Richard LaVecchia who was 18 years his senior. John’s father was an attorney and judge in Newark, NJ and John was named for his godfather Vice Chancellor John H. Backes who served as Vice Chancellor of the New Jersey Court of Chancery from 1913-1935. John’s father passed in 1940 when he was only 8, and his mother Mary was devoted to him.
John grew up in South Orange, New Jersey on Montrose Avenue, and then raised his family on Irving Avenue. He attended Marshall Elementary School and then went to Delbarton School in Morristown (and boarded there) and graduated in 1950. He excelled in high school and played on the school’s first football team and served on the Alumni Board from 1951-1953. He attended college at Princeton University, graduated in 1954 and attended Law School at Columbia University graduating in 1957. John worked at Connell Foley in New Jersey his entire career. From 1955 to 1957 he worked as a law clerk while attending law school. He became an associate with the firm on June 15, 1957, was a partner of the firm from 1965 through 2002 and was Of Counsel from 2002 until his retirement on January 1, 2004. He was admitted to the Bar of the State of NJ and the United States District Court of NJ in 1957.
A Stone Scholar at Columbia Law School, Mr. LaVecchia served as a member of the Supreme Court Fee Arbitration Committee in 1978-1979 and the Supreme Court Ethics Committee Essex District in 1981-1986. He was a member of the Essex County, New Jersey State and American Bar Associations and several distinguished trial advocacy associations, including the Trial Lawyers of New Jersey, the International Association of Defense Counsel, and the Federation of Insurance and Corporate Counsel. He was a Certified Civil Trial Attorney, Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a Diplomate and first chapter president of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He also taught young lawyers in the American Inns of Court program. John is regarded as one of the finest trial attorneys in New Jersey. ABOTA has an award named for John – the John B LaVecchia Award - which honors members who emulate John’s dedication to upholding the high standards of professional and civil trial practice set by John throughout his storied career. In 1985, when Edwin Meese, 3rd was nominated to be Attorney General of the U.S., Senator Proxmire (D-Wisc) produced a list of 18 NJ Attorneys who he believed to be better qualified for the role, and John was one of them.
In the summer of 1956 John began dating Emy Lou Cahill, and they were married on February 2,1957 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church where they were active parishioners for
many years. They had been married 67 years. They had their first child in 1963 and have 7 children and 9 grandsons. Living most of his life in South Orange, NJ, John was dedicated to his family, friends and community. He worked incredibly hard for his family, but balanced that work with weekend trips and outings, hikes, canoe trips, vacations, and much time at Rock Spring Club where they were members from 1963-2005. He greatly enjoyed time there with his family golfing, playing tennis, swimming, playing paddle, sledding on the golf course, ice skating on Cable Lake, and watching his kids in the swim meets and tennis matches, and enjoying the active social scene in the clubhouse. Some of their very best friends were from those years at Rock Spring. John started the summer favorite event - the Fathers Cookout! On those days, he and other dads would take all the kids to south jersey to pick fruit and vegetables for the cookout and come back and grill and serve dinner to all the families. John also served as President of Rock Spring for a time and received their “Man of the Year” Award in April 1997.
John and Emy also began taking their family to Vermont in the late 1970s and eventually bought their second home in Dorset VT in 1986. Vermont has played a huge role in John’s life, and we cherish the times at Blueberry Hill cross country skiing, hiking to Lye Brook falls, walking in Merck Forest and at Equinox Pond, swimming at the Dorset Quarry, and so much more.
Even in “retirement” John was active in his community volunteering as a Guardian ad Leitem for children in the courts of Bennington VT. He worked as zoning administrator of Peru, Landgrove, and Sandgate until 2018. He served the town of Dorset on the Bennington County Regional Commission. He served on the Board and as President of the Southern Vermont Art Center and served as President of the Dorset Field Club, where they have been members for many years. There John and Emy enjoyed golfing and playing croquet. John loved telling and hearing good jokes and was a member of the Dorset Corn Exchange.
John is survived by his wife Emy, children John LaVecchia, Jr. and wife Jane Davies, Emma LaVecchia, Michael LaVecchia, Catherine LaVecchia, Vincent LaVecchia and wife Meghan Pruitt, and Nicholas LaVecchia and wife Molly. He is predeceased by his beloved daughter Elizabeth LaVecchia. He is remembered by his 9 grandsons who greatly admired him – Ian Lougheed, Connor Lougheed, Jack Lougheed, Timothy Bumpus, Joseph LaVecchia, Nicholas Price, Noah Price, Owen LaVecchia, and Leo LaVecchia. He is also remembered and loved by Brother in-law Peter Cahill and his wife Joanne, and sister-in-Law Diane Cahill, and many Cahill nieces and nephews and many LaVecchia nieces and nephews. He is cherished by many friends who will also miss him dearly. Funeral services for John will be held on Monday, March 11, 2024 at noon at Christ Our Savior Parish in Manchester, VT. An hour of visitation will be held at Christ Our Savior at 11am, one hour prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in John’s name to the Blueberry Hill Outdoor Center or the Merck Forest & Farmland Center.