Attorney Arthur L. Eno, Jr. 1924 – 2014

One of the leading Massachusetts real estate lawyers of the second half of the twentieth century, Lowell-native Arthur L. Eno, Jr., passed away on August 6, 2014.  While there are no calling hours, relatives and friends are invited to attend his committal service on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 at 1 p.m. in the Chapel at St. Joseph Cemetery, 96 Riverneck Rd., Chelmsford.  The following is the full text of his obituary from the Martin Funeral Home website:

Attorney Arthur L. Eno, Jr. was born in Lowell April 27, 1924 and died August 6, 2014, a stone’s throw from where he grew up—overlooking the Merrimack River in the city he loved.

As the firstborn son of Arthur L. and Claire (Lamoureux) Eno, Sr. his first language was French. He attended St. Joseph Grammar School and Keith Academy in Lowell and his childhood buddy was Jack Kerouac, another of Lowell’s Franco-American sons.

While Jack’s destiny was to leave Lowell, Louis’ destiny was to stay. Except for college and the war, he never lived more than 20 minutes from the city. Gifted with a strong intellect and an indomitable work ethic, he was accepted into Harvard at age 14. At the suggestion he prepare a bit more socially, he took an additional year of studies at Phillips Academy Andover.

Never one for dawdling, he completed his undergraduate Classics degree in three years; served in the Signal Section of the Army in Morocco, Italy, France and Germany for three years (he was in Paris at the end of the war); spent a year studying at the Sorbonne and returned to enter Harvard Law School, which he completed in just over two years.

After admission to the Massachusetts Bar in 1948, he became an Assistant Professor of Law at Northeastern University at age 24, just as he was opening his own private law practice in Lowell. Then, for the next 53 years, he commuted every day to the same neighborhood, many of them in his bright orange VW bug. In 1994, he created a firm, Eno Boulay and Martin (now Eno Martin Donahue) and retired in 2001.

In 1957, friends masterminded a fateful meeting with Ann Fitzpatrick of New Rochelle, New York. He called her at her New York City office to ask if she could arrange theater tickets for his girlfriend and him. This interesting tactic somehow worked and he successfully wooed Ann to Massachusetts. While the couple couldn’t have been more different in temperament or outlook, they were married 56 years and raised three children, John, Madeleine and Will.

One of their proudest achievements was to move a 300-year-old house from Amesbury to Carlisle, Mass. Louis heard that a beautiful old home was up for auction due to the construction of Route 495. He carefully tucked two sealed bids, one low and one high, into his jacket pocket. When it came time to present bids, he forgot which was which, but still managed to win the house. He and Ann dismantled and moved it—board by board, brick by brick—and painstakingly recreated it on acreage in Carlisle.

Civic involvement was important to him, and he served on numerous professional organizations and political groups: the Lowell School Committee (1951-1955), the Lowell Historic Board (1984-1993), and the Middlesex Canal Commission. He was a Trustee of the Central Savings Bank, a Director of the Jeanne d’Arc Credit Union (1972-1992), President of the Lowell Humane Society, President of the Middlesex Canal Association (1962-1972) and President of the Mass. Conveyancers Association (1982-1984).

While law was his vocation, the history of Lowell was his passion. He edited Cotton Was King, a compilation of essays about Industrial Revolution-era Lowell, published in 1976. He translated Immigrant Odyssey from French to English. Antiquarian books, bottles, and artwork all with the common theme of Lowell lined the bookshelves of the living room, and his office was a veritable museum to the city.

His numerous awards include Honorary Oblate of Mary Immaculate (1979), the Richard Johnson Award (Mass. Conveyancers Association), Lawyer of the Year (Greater Lowell Bar Association, 1991) and Franco-American of the Year (2000).

He was also co-author of Massachusetts Real Estate (WestGroup) and editor of annual supplements for the publication for dozens of years. He edited the Massachusetts Real Estate Sourcebook (published by Mass Continuing Legal Education).

Deeply religious, Louis rarely missed attending Mass, even while traveling. In his rare spare time, he took the family in the station wagon to explore the canals and locks of the eastern seaboard.

Until he lost his sight several years ago, reading was his ultimate pleasure. All he needed for a happy vacation at the family cabin in Vermont was his tall glass of ice tea and a tall stack of library books. 

He read quickly and remembered details. His 10-year-old daughter once asked him to read Charlotte’s Web so she could discuss it with him. He sat on the porch and read it in a single sitting while she watched. A lifetime classics student, he gave his young children Peanuts books in Latin for Christmas.

He loved lobster, croissants, Paris, Quebec, speaking French, reading the Greek philosophers, sci-fi movies, Bennie Hill, large dogs and his family. There was very little about the world, history, or politics that he did not know. For the past several decades, he met his friends Lenny and Jay for lunch, jokes and political talk just about every Saturday.

His baby granddaughter was making her entrance into the world at the very moment he departed.

Surviving him in addition to his beloved wife, Ann, are his children John (Jeanne Palanza) of North Andover, Madeleine (John Roper) of Sandy, Oregon, Will (Maria Dizzia) of Brooklyn, NY, and brand-new granddaughter, Albertine Eno. His brother, Paul A. (Janice) Eno of Taunton, MA and dozens of nephews, nieces, and grandnephews and grandnieces, each of whom he adored. He was preceded in death by his beloved sister Jacqueline.