Long-time Norfolk resident John Olivieri died this past February after living the past five years in an assisted living facility near his family. In the years John called Norfolk home, he made himself a fixture in town. He certainly rewrote the book when it came to what one might expect to do with one’s retirement years. Rather than “retire” as the word implies, when John retired from his 41-year career at Hewlett Packard, he stepped into public life in town. His first project was to help resist the placement of a sludge plant at the edge of Norfolk, back in 1984.
But he didn’t stop with his efforts to prevent what many saw as a huge threat to Norfolk’s way of life. John not only became a water commissioner in Norfolk, he also ran for, and was elected to, a position on the School Committee. John served on the School Committee for five years, and he also served as the Veteran’s Affairs Graves officer. In his spare time, he was a senior volunteer at the Freeman-Centennial School for at least ten years, visiting classrooms weekly and helping children with science and math topics.
His son Jack Olivieri explained that at the beginning of WWII, John had just finished high school and tried to join the Marines like his brother, but did not pass the physical. He then tried to join the Navy and once again was turned away. Finally the Coast Guard took him and assigned him to the Merchant Marine service, sailing unarmed Liberty ships across the Atlantic to England. John traveled repeatedly across the Atlantic on these unarmed ships, with little or no armed escort during wartime, and was on a ship that provided supplies to the allies immediately after D-Day. Their ship was strafed by German fighter pilots, and luckily for him, avoided being hit.
At the end of WWII, John left the Merchant Marines and was promptly drafted by the U.S. Army, where he spent another two years. He married his beloved wife Rita, and once released from the Army decided to supplement his income by joining the newly formed U.S. Air Force Reserve. John was among those who were called up for duty during the Korean War. When he wrote the Department of Defense in the 1990s asking them to determine which medals and ribbons he qualified for, he stated that the reason for his request was “so I can impress my grandchildren!” His son Jack noted that when the Veteran’s Department asked for proof he had served, John’s response was that he had proof three times over! His experiences with multiple branches of the armed services might explain his passion for keeping the cemeteries in Norfolk meticulously clean during his tenure as the Veterans Affairs Graves officer in town.
Despite family responsibilities—John and his wife Rita had two children and John often worked two jobs—he made the commitment in the 1960s to go back to night school to get a college education. He earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
Norfolk resident and Selectman Jim Lehan smiled when recalling the impact John had had in Norfolk. Lehan noted that “John was unique! I loved him. He was determined to stay involved and always had a passion for the schools. He not only volunteered in the schools and on the School Committee and cared for the cemeteries in town, he also volunteered in town hall and was a community resource in the clerk’s office.” Lehan continued, “John was a fun guy. I admired that he wanted to stay active. We have a ‘wall of fame’ at the Norfolk town hall, and while John isn’t being placed on that wall this year, he’s on the list. We don’t say ‘thank you’ often enough to all our volunteers.”
Norfolk Town Administrator Jack Hathaway recalled that “John was involved in many different aspects of the town, each time in his quiet, unassuming manner, just trying to help others and make improvements in how things were being done. Besides his other service in town, John volunteered at Town Hall. He was stationed inside of the main door and helped people out as they came in the building, directing them to the proper department. When he had down time, John would look for things to repair, often fixing staplers or other mechanical items. After he ran out of things in Town Hall to fix, he would bring things in from home to repair while he waited for “customers” to show up.”
Hathaway continued, “In John’s work with the Water Commission he dug right in and helped improve the relationship between the Water Department and the other boards in town. When the town decided to merge the Water Division with the Highway department and created a Department of Public Works, John volunteered to be on the new DPW Board and helped make the transition to the new environment.” Hathaway concluded, “John was a very intelligent, kind man who enjoyed spending his retirement years giving back to others and spent much of his time teaching youngsters about important, practical things that sometimes get overlooked in our hectic culture today. John will be missed.”
Issue Date:
June, 2017
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