The Honorable Rosemary S. Tierney, former mayor of the City of New Bedford, passed away on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at her home, in accordance with her wishes, surrounded by her loving children. She was born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts on April 29, 1932, two days after the birth of the man she would marry, John A. ("Jack") Tierney. Jack loved to tell their children that he had heard Rosemary cry while they were in the hospital nursery together and later searched for her until he found her while he was a student at The College of the Holy Cross and she a student at Emmanuel College. They were married for 58 years.
Rosemary ("Rosie") was raised in Milton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Mary (Kirby) and Edward T. Seibert. She graduated from St. Gregory's High School and Emmanuel College. She received her Master's degree from Bridgewater State University, attending at night while working and raising their children during the day. Rosemary's father died when she was sixteen years old. She grew up in a home full of love and faith but no money or privilege. She worked as a waitress to pay for her education. She frequently said that her childhood upbringing taught her to be thrifty and to appreciate all she received. She was famously frugal - buying day old bread and shopping for her family's clothes at Filene's Basement. Jack joked that he thought "Irregular" was a brand of men's dress shirts. He lovingly called her "Tenement Tess.” Anyone who knew her knew she took pride in her ability to "spend both sides of a penny", a skill she demonstrated not only in managing the Tierney family's finances but in returning the City of New Bedford's finances to the black while mayor.
Shortly after their marriage, Rosemary accompanied Jack to France where they lived in Chaumont for three years while Jack was an officer in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Air Force. Rosemary taught English and traveled throughout Europe with Jack while he tried courts martial cases. Rosemary counted these years as among the happiest of her life. After Jack's discharge from the Air Force, they decided to settle and raise their family in New Bedford, Massachusetts where Jack's cherished sister, Mary Claire Burns, was the director of social services at St. Luke's Hospital and his beloved brother, Dr. James F. Tierney, was a surgeon. Rosemary taught at Keith Junior High School where she frequently gave her lunch to hungry students. She also taught at Southeastern Massachusetts Technical Institute (SMTI), a precursor of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She was the Director of Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Skill Center on Hillman Street for a number of years. She was known as a tough, but caring, teacher.
Rosemary was committed to public education and learning and firmly believed in education's ability to improve one's life. She also believed in public service and loved politics. She ran and won a seat on the New Bedford School Committee where she served for many years with such New Bedford icons as Dr. Paul Walsh, Judge John Xifaras and Jack Nobrega. She was the Chairwoman of the committee during the contentious teachers' strike in 1976. She relished campaigning, canvasing door-to-door throughout the neighborhoods of New Bedford, greeting factory workers in the early morning hours, speaking with strangers to learn their stories and concerns, handing out her famous nail files, standing on street corners holding her signs and waving to passing voters. She frequently enlisted a less than enthusiastic child or two to accompany her. She mobilized a small army of previously apolitical friends, mostly stay at home moms, who became a very efficient and well-run political force. She subsequently ran for and won a seat on the Governor's Council in Boston representing the First District which includes the Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Plymouth, Dukes and Nantucket. She logged thousands of miles in her family station wagon crisscrossing those counties accompanied by Jeanne Mathieu and Liz O'Brien, pulling over at every family party, barbeque or gathering she saw to introduce herself to voters.
In 1991 Rosemary was elected the first (and so far only elected) female mayor of the City of New Bedford. She served three terms focusing on improving the city's finances as well as the quality of its citizens' lives. She was instrumental in the designation of New Bedford's Historic District as a national park, the restoration of the Buttonwood Park Zoo, the establishment of the Art Museum downtown and the Fort Taber Park. She was a champion for veterans and the elderly, opening new senior centers downtown and at Brooklawn Park, investing in new transportation for seniors and upgrading existing senior centers. She improved the city's bond rating, built a budget surplus and initiated a strategic plan to restore and maintain parks, beaches and municipal facilities for the future. She was thrilled to host Mother Teresa during her visit to the city. She loved riding along with "her guys" at the DPW while they plowed the city streets. She encouraged both Scott Lang and Jon Mitchell to run for mayor and provided each with any requested (and truth be told, some not requested) advice and assistance. She was proud of the job each did as mayor and considered both good friends. Rosemary was committed to the Democratic Party. She accompanied her dear friend, Mardee Xifaras, to Pennsylvania to campaign for Al Gore when he ran for President of the United States.
Rosemary served, in an unpaid position, as the city's representative to the Regional Refuse District for over twenty years. She was extremely proud of the Crapo Hill Landfill's success which saved the city millions of dollars and generated visits from interested government officials from around the world who sought to copy it. She received numerous accolades and awards including the recent dedication of the Hazelwood Community Center in her name as well as recognition for her distinguished public service by her alma mater, Emmanuel College, the 1996 Buzzards Bay Visionary Award, awards from many veterans' organizations and the Republic of Cabo Verde for relief aid organized by the city to assist Cabo Verde after the volcanic eruptions in 1995.
Rosemary was a member of the Country Club of New Bedford for many years. She was a mediocre, but enthusiastic, golfer who had fun and made the other golfing members of her family laugh. She particularly enjoyed playing in two Miacomet Member Guest tournaments with her daughter, Sheila, especially the year they improbably won the event. In addition to New Bedford and politics, Rosemary loved her family, her faith, Nantucket and traveling. As her daughter Kara stated "Little do people know that her work as a public servant paled in comparison to her skill and brilliance as a mom." She will be buried next to her husband in Riverside Cemetery in a plot she selected overlooking the New Bedford harbor and her beloved City of New Bedford.
Rosemary is survived by her five children: Attorney Moira E. Tierney, Attorney Sheila M. Tierney-Curry (and her husband, Keith Curry), Attorney and Restaurateur John E. Tierney (and his partner, Robert Brichacek), Dr. Matthew J. Tierney (and his wife, Patricia J. Swain-Tierney) and Kara A. Tierney (and her husband, Dr. Douglas S. Smink); her nine grandchildren: Sara Jacobsen (and her husband, John Jacobsen), Declan Tierney, Keaghan Tierney, Maeve Tierney, Griffin Tierney, Tierney Smink, McLean Smink, Kirby Smink and Finlay Smink; and three great-grandchildren: Gabriel Jacobsen, Theo Jacobsen and Elliot Jacobsen. She is also survived by her sister, Joanne Warren, her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Dr. James F. and Jean Tierney and many nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly. In accordance with Rosemary's deeply held Catholic beliefs, she is now reunited forever in heaven with her husband, Jack, her parents, her grandson, David N. Sosnowski, her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary Claire and Bill Burns, her niece, Annemarie Warren, and her nephew, Ian Tierney. Rosemary's family would like to thank Southcoast Hospice Care, particularly Fatima and Kennedy, as well as these extraordinary women: Aida Spohn, Lucy Gil, Tanya Barboza, Mary Ann Wilson, Jodi Travers, Kristina Gonsalves, Neriah Pina and Lora-Lee.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday Feb. 22, 2020 at 9 AM at St. Lawrence Church followed by burial in Riverside Cemetery, Fairhaven. Visiting hours will be on Friday Feb. 21, 2020 from 3 to 8 PM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park Street, New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, Rosemary would prefer that you make a donation to either Gifts to Give, One Titliest Drive, Acushnet, MA 02743 or to the Missionaries of Charity, the organization founded by Mother Teresa, 556 County Street, New Bedford, MA 02740. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.