 He graduated from St. Bonaventure's College, now St. Bonaventure University, in 1934.He received a master's degree in social work from the University at Buffalo in 1949, and an honorary doctorate in civil law from St. Bonaventure University in 1970.He served in the United States Army Air Forces from 1941 to 1946, first as a private, and later being honorably discharged as a captain.