Francis X. Desmond Jr. (75) also known as Bruz, died after a lengthy battle with diabetes in the early hours of January 17th.

He is survived by his loving daughters, Shannon M. Desmond of Mansfield, and Caitlin Speck of Texas, his sisters, Pat Desmond of Quincy, Kathleen Desmond of Milton, Therese Desmond of Milton, and his brother Thomas J. Desmond of South Yarmouth. He was the grandfather of Cole Speck of Texas and was a proud uncle to June Desmond of Quincy, Tim Desmond of California, Harry Sills of Seattle, Washington, John Sills of New York, Danielle Desmond of Leominster, and TJ Desmond of Florida. He also was a great uncle to Desmond Bradford of New Hampshire, Haley Bradford of Maine, Finn Desmond of California, Charlie, Owen and Graham Sills of Seattle and Julien Sills of New York and Great Great Uncle to Penelope of Maine.

Born in 1948, he was the second child of the late Mary (Donahue) Desmond and the late Francis X. Desmond, who were both lifelong Milton residents.

He graduated from St. Agatha’s School and Milton High School.

He retired at 65 to the Cape after working for Verizon for 42 years. He lived at Fuller Village in Milton in the last years of his life where he managed to get around despite being legally blind.

He was dedicated to the Town of Milton and began his political service as a Town Meeting Member, serving over 30 years in this position. He went on to become a Trustee of the Milton Cemetery and then to be member and chair of the Milton School Committee. He was an advocate for the Milton Public Schools, being a founding member of the Milton Foundation for Education. During his time as School Committee Member, he was instrumental in helping to secure the $100 million project for the renovation of all six of the schools back in the early 2000s. He then served on the school building committee from its inception until all the schools were completed. He also dedicated a lot of time to ensuring the school system was meeting the needs of students who learned differently.

He was once the Exalted Ruler of the Milton Elks, a club that no longer exists, but one where his father had been active. In the Milton Elks he ran events that created a $10,000 scholarship at Milton High School.

He had a love for baseball as he went through every chair in the Milton Babe Ruth League, serving as coach, president, trustee, and avid supporter.

In his spare time, he was socializing and always ready for a party. He enjoyed golfing and was an avid boater, spending summers boating through the Bass River and surrounding coasts and islands with friends and family. He will be missed by many.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Saint Agatha Church, 432 Adams Street, Milton, Wednesday January 24 at 10:30 am. Relatives and friends invited. Visiting hours at Dolan Funeral Home, 460 Granite Avenue, EAST MILTON SQUARE, Tuesday 3-7 PM.

In lieu of flowers donations will be accepted to JDRF, the leading global organization harnessing the power of research, advocacy, and community engagement to advance life-changing breakthroughs for type 1 diabetes. jdrf.org