Loyd Starrett, 72, town moderator for Rockport

Loyd Milford Starrett, a former law clerk and lawyer who spent his days arguing one side of a case, spent his nights during Rockport's annual Town Meeting guaranteeing every voice was heard.

''He would scour the Town Meeting audience to make sure everyone had a chance to speak and that all aspects of an issue were covered. He was an icon here in town," said Rockport's town administrator, Michael Racicot.

Mr. Starrett, a lawyer and town moderator for more than 30 years, died Thursday at Addison Gilbert Hospital in Gloucester apparently of a heart attack. He was 72.

Born in St. Louis, Mr. Starrett moved to Boston to attend Harvard University and earned a bachelor's degree in American government in 1953.

He served in the Air Force, leaving as a major, said his wife of 39 years, Elaine (MacGray).

In 1958 he graduated from Harvard Law School, where he served as treasurer of the Harvard Law Review. For more than a year, he served as a law clerk to former chief judge Calvert Magruder of the US Court of Appeals.

In 1964 he joined the law firm Foley, Hoag, and Eliot and eventually became a senior partner.

The couple moved to Rockport in 1967, and Mr. Starrett was elected town moderator in 1975.

''He had a very sharp legal mind, and he was always on the lookout for issues that needed to be flushed out more. He ran an excellent meeting," Racicot said.

A year later he was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals and served as chairman for 26 years.

He worked at Foley, Hoag, and Eliot until 1985, when he founded Fordham & Starrett, a law firm in Boston that handled mostly zoning disputes, breaches of contract, and other business matters. In 1996 his firm merged with Mahoney, Hawkes & Goldings.

In 2001, he opened his own practice in Beverly.

''When he became a lawyer, he was happy to know that he never had to retire because he loved it so much he never intended to retire," his wife said.

Mr. Starrett was also on the national board of the Baptist Church.

In addition to his wife, he leaves his former wife, Michelle Starrett Knecht of Miami; three sons, Charles D. of Bellevue, Wash., A. Thomas Bower of Chicago, and Loyd Benjamin of Miami Beach; five daughters, JoEllen Bower of North Andover, Amy Bower of Falmouth, Lucinda of Altadena, Calif.; Sarah J. of University Park, Md., and Patricia M. Fouts of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; and 16 grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held June 17 at 2 p.m. in First Baptist Church in Beverly.