Town Manager John Carroll Retires After 39 Years-This Day in Norwood History-December 18, 2017

On Monday, Tony Mazzucco replaced the outgoing John Carroll, who retired after 39 years on the job.

Carroll, at 89 years old, held the distinction of being Norwood’s longest-serving public official.

“I love working with people. I like working with guys, punching a guy in the arm. It’s because I like to be relevant, being part of decisions being made,” says Carroll. He expressed that he had never contemplated retirement until this year.

The veteran public servant, born to Irish immigrants in Boston, graduated from Northeastern University with a civil engineering degree. Carroll recounted his fortuitous entry into the position, which happened back in 1978. Having served as the commissioner for the State Department for Public Works under Governor Michael Dukakis, Carroll faced unemployment when Ed King defeated Dukakis. A timely call from a friend alerted him to a town manager vacancy in Norwood, leading to Carroll submitting his resume on a Friday and securing the position by Monday.

Carroll is incredibly proud of the gazebo he put up in the common 25 years ago, and shared anecdotes of its significance, including one about a couple from St. Catherine’s Church rushing over to capture their memorable moment on its opening day.

“That has happened hundreds of times since then. It’s just a beautiful thing,” he says.

At 33 years old, Tony Mazzucco, the new Town Manager, wasn’t even born when Carroll took the job in Norwood.

“I don’t think you can ever really replace a legend,” says Mazzucco. “The team in Norwood seems to be a fantastic team and John has really built that team but 39 years as town manager is quite a legend.”

Of course, even legends move on, and for Carroll’s colleagues, that can be tough.

Debbie Melcher, Carroll’s executive assistant for 27 years, expressed the familial bond forged over decades. Melcher, hopeful for Carroll’s fulfilling retirement, acknowledged the emotional challenge of parting ways after such an extended professional relationship.

“John Carroll knows my whole family, my nieces, my nephew, my stepson, he’s like a part of the family,” says Melcher. “Twenty-seven years is a long time to work for somebody, but I hope he’s going to do something good when he retires — him and his wife.”

As Carroll contemplates his next steps, he humorously mentions the prospect of “sleeping late” but remains uncertain about his post-retirement plans.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I really don’t,” he says.

A born-again evangelical, he envisions increased involvement in his church community, though he laments one unfulfilled aspiration: installing loudspeakers around the town center, adjacent to the gazebo, to infuse the area with lively daytime music—an ambition that eluded him during his nearly four-decade tenure.

“I haven’t been able to pull it off,” he says. “It irks me.”

December 18, 2017 By Jack Lepiarz and Yasmin Amer
This segment aired on December 18, 2017.