Special Board of Aldermen 02-19-2019 Page 4
We can’t be certain that without his steering the course we would have acquired the Pennichuck Water
System which will ensure lower water rates now and for future generations. We cannot know for sure that
we would have had water protection legislation, wetlands protection legislation, the economic development
initiatives that are working to keep our City strong and vibrant.
But it is certain that without Brian’s contribution for the last 25 years, that Nashua would be a different place
and | know it would not be a better place. | am proud to have called Brian my friend; the 12 years that |
worked in this Chamber with him were the most satisfying for me in my public life. | will miss him.
Police Commission James Tollner
| will be brief; | would say that Brian was probably as people have had the smartest politician | have ever
seen. | don’t even think of him as a politician, | think of him as a servant of the City. You know as one of
the Founding Fathers you look at what they did in the beginning and as Donnalee had mentioned, he
wasn’t one that grabbed an issue and wanted attention for it. VWWhat he basically wanted to do was grab the
issue and do the best thing for the City and the citizens. You know there are a number of things that we
did, whether it be the high school or Pennichuck and people that worked on that, when it came time to get
the picture taken, they’d probably be in front. Brian was the type of guy that he said — Hey everybody else
get in front and I'll stay on the side.
| served with him for 14 years and | would say some of those Boards were pretty tumultuous at times to say
the least. Sometimes you wanted to crawl under your chair and disappear. But he was always the steady
hand, he always did what was right for the City. He did what was right regardless of where you were in the
City. You know, whether you were in a position of wealth or if you were in a position of looking for support.
The other thing if you had a chance to attend his services, he loved his family as much as he loved the City.
And damn did he love the City. The stories that the kids brought, you know, | never knew he did all those
different things. But | appreciate the opportunity to speak. The City has had a loss but | think as Steve
said, everywhere you go in the City, there are things there that, you know, it is kind of like that movie with
Jimmy Stewart around Christmas time. | forget the name of, Wonderful Life, okay? Brian McCarthy was
Jimmy Stewart in that movie. If he had disappeared and he wasn’t here, what would the City look like? And
we are better for him being in the City. Thank you.
President Wilshire
Thank you Jim. | have one final thing to read, it is from Alderman Dowd who went to be with his daughter
who is having a baby this week. So he was unable to be here but | told him | would read his words into the
record:
“?’m sorry that | can’t be with all of you tonight to celebrate the life of my good friend and colleague Brian
McCarthy. | am out of town celebrating my third grandchild and my daughter Emily’s first child. Brian and |
go back several years, long before | served with him on the Board of Aldermen. My youngest daughter and
Brian’s twins, John and Kim, were in the Nashua High band together and as parents we served on the
Nashua High School Band Booster’s Group to support our children. | became good friends over the years
with Brian, his wife Gloria and his children and attended many an event together. We also shared a very
close group of friends who will also miss Brian very much. Brian was one of the smartest people | have
ever known and know how passionate he was about his many interests, including electronics, space,
rockets, air shows, ham radio, astronomy and politics and of course, computers. | don’t how he found the
time for all of those past times and activities; anyone else would have tired in pursuit of all those activities
year after year, activities that he lovingly shared with his wife and children and his many friends. Brian was
a very hard worker and solved many complex problems as all his friends can attest, whether it was taking
pictures of an eclipse with his automated camera setup or firing a very large rocket into the waiting sky.
Brian also has a compassion for the City of Nashua and spent more hours than you can imagine working to
make Nashua a better place to live. Much of what | know in several subject areas are because of working
so closely with Brian; | just hope | can be some small part in the success of his latest project such as the
Middle School Project, the Performing Arts Center and the return of Commuter Rail.
