A. J. McNamara

Abel John "Buddy" McNamara
United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana
In office June 21, 1982 – June 9, 2001
Appointed by	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Edward James Boyle, Sr.
Succeeded by	Jay C. Zainey
Louisiana State Representative for Jefferson Parish
In office 1976–1980
Born	June 9, 1936 New Orleans, Louisiana
Died	December 2, 2014 (aged 78) Metairie, Louisiana
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans
Political party	Democrat-turned-Republican (1977)
Spouse(s)	Alma J. Loisel "Puddin" McNamara
Children	John Price McNamara Dwight Loisel McNamara (deceased) Joni McNamara Parent Nancy Ann McNamara Miller (deceased) Parents: Henry D. and Ruby Price McNamara
Residence	Metairie, Louisiana
Alma mater	Jesuit High Schoo in New Orleans Louisiana State University Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
Occupation	Attorney, judge and former engineer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Military Service
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1959-1962

Abel John McNamara (June 9, 1936 – December 2, 2014), was a Louisiana state representative from 1976 to 1980 and a judge of the New Orleans-based United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, who served full-time from June 21, 1982, until the fall of 2001, when he assumed senior status.^[1]

A son of Henry D. McNamara and the former Ruby Price, McNamara, graduated in 1954 from the Roman Catholic Jesuit High School in his native New Orleans. In 1959, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. In 1968, he received his Juris Doctorate degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.^[1]

McNamara served in the United States Navy from 1959 to 1962. From 1966 to 1968, while in law school he was a bailiff and law clerk for U.S. District Judge Herbert W. Christenberry of the same court on which McNamara served. He maintained a private law practice from 1968 to 1982, when he became a judge.^[1]

In 1976, he joined three other attorneys in forming the partnership Hailey, McNamara, McNamara, and Hall. The name was changed to Hailey, McNamara, Hall, Larmann & Papale in 1982, when A. J. McNamara was appointed to the district judgeship. The firm is among the largest in Jefferson Parish and one of the largest litigation operations in metropolitan New Orleans.^[1]

While practicing law, McNamara served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from populous Jefferson Parish in suburban New Orleans. Elected in the first-ever nonpartisan blanket primary in 1975, he was a Democrat representative from 1976 to 1977, and a Republican convert from 1977 to 1980. He did not seek reelection in the 1979 primary.^[2]

In 1976, as a Democrat, McNamara cast a critical vote against the Equal Rights Amendment in the House Civil Law Committee. The unfavorable committee vote effectively killed the prospects of ratifying the amendment for the second time in Louisiana.

In the 105-member Louisiana House, McNamara served with six other Republicans at the time: E. Clark Gaudin of Baton Rouge, three members from Caddo Parish, Art Sour, B. F. O'Neal, Jr., and Bruce Lynn, and two converts to GOP, Michael F. Thompson of Lafayette, and Lane Carson of New Orleans.

In 1980, McNamara supported the Ronald W. Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush national ticket against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. President Reagan thereafter nominated McNamara for the bench on May 5, 1982, for the seat vacated by Judge Edward James Boyle, Sr., and the U.S. Senate quickly confirmed him.

McNamara was succeeded full-time on the court by Judge Jay C. Zainey (born 1951), a nominee of President George W. Bush, who was confirmed on October 10, 2001.

McNamara resided in the large unincorporated community of Metairie with his wife, the former Alma J. Loisel (c. 1939-2023).^[3] The couple had two sons, John Price McNamara and Dwight Loisel McNamara (1967-2005), and two daughters, Joni McNamara Parent, the widow of Clarence "Benny" Parent, III, and Nancy Ann McNamara Miller (died 2014).^[4]

McNamara's younger brother, Patrick J. McNamara (1940-2023) was a film and stage actor, theatre director, voice and acting teacher, and tournament poker player. Over a long career, Patrick McNamara worked with major Hollywood directors such as Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma. He co-starred in Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.^[5]

McNamara died at his home in 2014 of progressive supranuclear palsy. He was interred on December 6 at Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans.^[4]