Nahant is mourning the recent loss of town official, Coast Guard veteran, and lawyer Michael Rauworth, who had dedicated decades of service to his country, town, and family.
Rauworth died unexpectedly in his Nahant home on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the age of 74. In the nearly 30 years he served in the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve, he rose to the rank of captain, sailing roughly 200 nautical miles.
As a founding member and 17-year president of the Nahant Preservation Trust, he played a crucial role in protecting the Valley Road Elementary School (now known as the Nahant Community Center) and the Coast Guard station. Rauworth’s widow, Nancy Cantelmo, said all of her late husband’s decisions were guided by an unwavering moral compass.
“He had very strong principles about what he thought was right and what he thought was fair. He was a very good articulator of those principles and has spoken many times on the floor of Town Hall or at Town Meetings about his convictions and how he thought things should go,” Cantelmo said. “He believed strongly in democracy and in fairness and equity, and he spoke very clearly and frequently to have those principles carried out.”
It was Rauworth’s determination to bring positive change to his community that drove him toward service in town government. Most recently, he served as treasurer of the Nahant Democratic Town Committee and on the Housing Production Plan Advisory Sub-Committee, where he worked to plan the development of affordable and multi-family housing across town.
Democratic Town Committee Chair Jim Walsh, who also served alongside Rauworth on the Housing Production Advisory Sub-Committee, described him as a sharp, motivated, and successful force in his community.
“He was excellent at asking the right questions. His participation was crucial to whatever success we may have had in that area,” Walsh said. “He worked hard and very successfully at being a good American citizen and an important contributing citizen to the Town of Nahant.”
For more than 30 years, Rauworth worked as a lawyer in the Boston area, most recently as a partner at Chartwell Law. His practice concentrated on maritime and admiralty matters. He served on the American Sail Training Association Board for more than 20 years, completing his service as president and board chair in 2021.
“He was strongly interested in politics, in the way that the world is changing. He was always a strong defender of democracy and the Constitution, being a lawyer, but he also maintained hope that the principles that the country was founded on were correct and worth fighting for. He had hope that those freedoms would ultimately prevail in this country,” Cantelmo said.
Cantelmo said Rauworth was a devoted father to his two children, Mariana Hire of Nahant and Samuel Rauworth of Somerset. He left behind three grandchildren — Brayden, Riley, and Mason. She also described her late husband as a devout motorcycle enthusiast and traveler, having ridden his motorcycle through 48 states.
“It’s not only my personal loss, but it’s a loss for all the things that he was involved in and a loss for much of the town,” Cantelmo said.
