PITTSFIELD, Mass. — John D. Mara died August 22, 2017, at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, N.Y., following a short illness. 

He was born in Pittsfield, Mass., on March 2, 1958, the son of the late John C. Mara and Yvonne E. (Stock) Mara. He attended Cranwell Preparatory School until its closing in 1975, then graduated from Taconic High School in 1976. He received a BA in History from Columbia University in 1982, and a Juris Doctorate from Syracuse University in 1985, before going to work for the State of New York: first in the Human Rights Division, then for the Worker’s Compensation Board where he served as a Law Judge. 

He possessed a brilliant mind and endlessly curious intellect. To him, everything was interesting. From the mechanical, to the historical, to the scientific, he would research and investigate, and seemed to know something about nearly everything. 

He is survived by his siblings, Marianne McMahon and her husband Mark of Westwood, Mass., Dorothy Mara and her husband Ted Williams of Pittsfield, and Andrew J. Mara of Grafton, Mass.; his nephew, Andrew Mara-Williams; his niece, Bridget Mara-Williams; and three aunts and three uncles. 

Funeral notice: Calling hours will be held Tuesday, August 29, 2017, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Dery Funeral Home, 54 Bradford Street, Pittsfield. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, August 30, 2017, at 11 a.m. at the Dery Funeral Home in Pittsfield, Burial will follow in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Pittsfield. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders, in care of the Dery Funeral Home.