William John McNally, IIIof Thetford, VT, passed away on Tuesday, August 25, 2020. He was 76.

He is survived by his three children, Jimmy, Catherine, and Peter, and his siblings Teri, Patrick, Ritchie, and Sue. John's family welcomes those who knew him to share memories and stories at https://www.rand-wilson.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that charitable donations be sent to the Coalition for Rainforest Nations. A memorial to celebrate his life will be held in 2021.

John was born on July 24, 1944, in Fredericksburg, VA. A child of a career Army officer, William John McNally, Jr., and a nurse, Jennalee "Dede" McNally (née Ritchie), he grew up in Hawaii, Japan, Arizona, and Virginia.

After completing his undergraduate degree at Duke University, where he majored in history, he served for four years as a Lieutenant in the US Navy. After a year at sea, he deployed in 1968 to Vietnam, where he served in combat on a river boat and advised the South Vietnamese Navy. During this time, he was a co-founder of the Concerned Officers Movement, a group of military officers who spoke out against US involvement in the war.

John then attended law school at the University of Virginia, after which he worked as a public defender and lawyer in private practice in Alexandria, VA, Washington, DC, and the Upper Valley. He was known by colleagues for his thoughtful and effective legal acumen. A highlight of his early career came when a Fourth Amendment case he tried was brought to the US Supreme Court.

In addition to his law career, John was a prolific and innovative artist. In Washington, DC, he published his poetry in magazines and in a personal book collection, Northern Lights. During this time, he co-founded the Washington Writers Publishing House and co-developed a program in Virginia schools to teach grade school students how to write poetry. He was most accomplished as a visual artist, spending decades working in oil painting, watercolor, and digital art, which included several gallery exhibitions in the Upper Valley. His art reflected the richness and color he saw in home environments and the natural world"€"his travels abroad, the people he loved, the hills and fields of Vermont.

John was a loving father, brother, and friend who shared his kindness, warmth, and wit with all who were close to him. He was most content in his beloved home in Thetford, where he spent many evenings sitting on his rocking chair on his porch, reading multiple books at a time, and sharing conversations at his dinner table with carefully chosen music in the background. He helped others to see beauty in the world through his art, his poetry, and his music. His wry observations and mischievous sense of humor brightened conversations and livened our days. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends, whose love for him knows no bounds.