Edward A. Cloonan

Waltham - Retired Waltham Fire Chief Edward A. Cloonan, Jr., of Waltham, died Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at his home. He was 90.

Chief Cloonan was born in Waltham on March 31, 1919, a son of the late Edward A. and Mary M. (Mannion) Cloonan, and had been a lifelong resident. He was a 1936 graduate of Saint Mary's High School in Waltham.

In July, 1941 he joined the Waltham Fire Department as a 'callman' firefighter, a position he held before joining the United States Army during World War II. Ed was a Staff Sergeant with the 275th Infantry Regiment of the 70th Infantry Division, nicknamed the 'Trailblazers'. His unit entered France through Marseilles in 1944 and was in constant action until V-E Day in May, 1945. He participated in battles in the Rhineland and in Central Europe, most notably the 'Battle of the Bulge' during the winter of 1944-45.

As part of a heavy weapons company he was awarded a Bronze Star medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters 'for heroic achievement in action on January 3rd and on February 21st and 22nd' when his company and battalion command posts came under heavy enemy fire near Philippsbourg, France and Saarbrucken, Germany. In January of 1945 he escaped a mortal wound when an enemy bullet was stopped by a Catholic daily missal that he kept and read daily.

After the war Ed rejoined the Waltham Fire Department as a Fire Fighter. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1948, to Captain in 1951 and was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief in 1954. In December, 1964 he was appointed Chief of the department, a position that he held until his retirement twenty years later on March 31, 1984.

He was one of the founding members of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and had been a member and past president of the Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Association. He was also a life member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the New England Association of Fire Chiefs. Ed also belonged to the Central Massachusetts Fire Chiefs Association and the Middlesex Forest Wardens Association.

The chief was also a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post No. 2152 in Waltham, the Joseph F. Hill American Legion Post No. 156 where he was also a member of its band, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. 953, all of Waltham and the 70th Infantry Division Association. Ed was also a member and past president of the Waltham Municipal Employees Credit Union and a member and past president of the Waltham Kiwanis Club.

Ed leaves his wife of 61 years, Patricia A. (Sullivan) Cloonan; his children, Jane P. Bates and her husband, John, of Great Diamond Island, Maine, John E. 'Jack' Cloonan and his wife, Linda, of West Caldwell, New Jersey, Edward T. 'Ned' Cloonan and his wife, Linda, of Greenwich, Connecticut, Richard J. Cloonan and his wife, Bibiana of Manassas, Virginia and Elizabeth M. 'Betsy' Henderson and her husband, Paul, of Chelmsford; his grandchildren, John, Katie and Terry Bates, Jacey, Olivia and Sara Cloonan and Matthew, Meghan and Molly Henderson; his great-grandchildren, Campbell, Declan and Devan and many nieces, nephews and cousins including Elizabeth O'Neil of Waltham.

He was also the brother of the late Mary E. Cloonan.

Family and friends will honor and remember Ed's life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. Saturday morning before leaving in procession to Saint Mary's Church, 133 School Street, Waltham where his Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Waltham.

Memorial donations may be made to the Waltham Fire Fighters Welfare and Relief Association, 175 Lexington Street, Waltham, MA 02452 or to Saint Mary's Restoration Fund, 133 School Street, Waltham, MA 02451.