Marlborough – John D. Litster Sr., 75, died Sunday Aug. 7, 2011, at 
Marlborough Hospital.
Born in Bennington, Vermont, he was the son of the late John R. Litster Jr. and Elizabeth (Dewey) Litster and the husband of M. Joanne (Murray) Litster, of Marlborough.
Mr. Litster served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1955-1957, then transferred to the U.S. Naval Reserve, while continuing his education. He graduated in 1961 from Boston University, with a degree in Communications and Public Relations.
He had been employed in the Human Resources Department at the Polaroid Corp. for many years before retiring in 1991.Wishing to remain active, he returned to the workplace as a placement and career counselor at WPI and later at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough.
Mr. Litster was an accomplished photographer and a voracious reader, and enjoyed gardening, fishing in Vermont, the Red Sox and Patriots.
Besides his wife, he is survived by his sons, John D. Litster Jr. and his wife Jane Sullivan of San Francisco and Christopher M. Litster and his wife Mary of North Andover; his daughters, Mary E. Cockerhan of Alexandria, Va. and Deborah J. Litster and her partner Kathy LaPosta of Leominster; his sister, Janet Rideout and her husband Ralph of Fuquay Varina, N.C.; and his grandchildren, whom he adored, Jeremy and Meredith Cockerhan, John and Brigid Litster, and Maxwell, Caleb and Oliver Litster. He was also the father- in-law of the late John T. Cockerhan, who died in 2010.
Mr. Litster's family wishes to thank the staff of the Emergency Room and the ICU of Marlborough Hospital for the care given to him and the kindness and understanding shown to them.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday Aug. 12, at 10 a.m., at St. Matthias Church, 409 Hemenway St., Marlborough. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery on Wilson Street. Visiting hrs.will be held Thursday Aug. 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Slattery Funeral Home, Inc., 40 Pleasant St., Marlborough.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Matthias Parish, 409 Hemenway St., Marlborough, MA 01752.
For online condolences, please visit www.slatteryfuneralhome.com.
