Obituary

C. Donald Briggs III, obituary

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 9:45am

CAMDEN — C. Donald Briggs III, 60, passed away in Camden on Sept. 7, 2014, after several months of declining health.

He was the beloved husband of Alison Wholey Briggs.

Born in Hartford, Conn., on Feb. 7, 1954, he was the son of C. Donald Briggs Jr. and Mary Frances (Barton) Briggs of Manchester, Conn., and the loving father of his surviving sons, William T. Briggs of Waltham, Mass., and Bailey Barton Briggs of Camden.

Don was raised in Manchester, Conn., and attended St. James School and East Catholic High School. He was an active member of the Boy Scouts of America and achieved the rank of Life Scout. Don received his undergraduate degree from Holy Cross College and his law degree, with honors, from Suffolk University Law School, where he was the managing editor of the Suffolk Transnational Law Review.

Don was admitted to the bar in state and federal courts in Maine and Massachusetts, including the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He began practicing in Midcoast Maine in 1988, after working for nine years in personal injury law firms in Boston and Worcester, Mass. He was a board-certified trial advocate, handling thousands of cases for clients in his career. Don was especially focused on helping victims of car accidents, medical malpractice and other personal injury negligence cases. He was actively involved with the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project. Don served on the Board of Governors for the American Association for Justice, the board of directors for Pine Tree Legal Assistance and the board of governors of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association. He was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and was recognized as an advocate by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Don was also a past president of the Maine Board of Bar Examiners and the Maine Trial Lawyers Association. He was the current president of the Knox County Bar Association and served on the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar’s Professional Ethics Committee. His law firm, Briggs & Wholey, is located in Rockport.

Don resided in Camden with his wife, Alison.

Don enjoyed spending time with family, skiing with family and friends, playing basketball, bicycling, traveling with his wife and children, and family gatherings at holidays. In all aspects of his life, Don was known for his integrity, fair-mindedness and kindness toward others.

In addition to his wife, parents and sons, he is survived by a stepson, Daniel Edward Mynick of Claremont, Calif.; and a stepdaughter, Anna Rose Mynick of Tenants Harbor. Don was the father of the late Valerie Briggs. He also leaves behind two sisters, Patricia Haney of Falmouth, Mass., and Christine Fiske and her husband, Warren Fiske, of Richmond, Va.; two brothers, Jeffrey Briggs and his wife, Barbara, of Palm Harbor, Fla., and James Briggs and his wife, Evelyn, of North Bergen, N.J.; cherished nieces and nephews; along with many loyal friends.

Calling hours are Friday, Sept. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter, and Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Sept. 13, at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Seaview Cemetery in Rockport.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Don's memory may be made to the LifeFlight Foundation, which provides critical care medical transport services throughout Maine, by mail at P.O. Box 899, Camden, ME 04843 or online at lifeflightmaine.org/donation.