Moakley (Joe) is born in South Boston.

The son of a tavern owner and housekeeper, Joe Moakley moves with his family several times within South Boson, attends the O’Reilly, Nazareth, and Hart schools, graduates from South Boston High School, and serves in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He graduates from the University of Miami and Suffolk Law School and subsequently moves to 1812 Columbia Road. Moakley serves in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1953-63) and Senate (1965-71), on the Boston City Council (1971-73),* and in the U.S. House of Representative (1972-2001). He dies in Bethesda, Maryland, on May 28, 2001, and is buried in Braintree. After a funeral attended by president George W. Bush and former president Bill Clinton at St. Brigid’s Church on May 31, 2001, Moakley is buried in Braintree.