John J. Tierney

[1] After losing a reelection bid, Tierney was a budget analyst for the council before being appointed commissioner of Boston Parks and Recreation in 1966 by mayor John Collins.

[1] Born in South Boston, he was the eldest of eight children, Tierney graduated from Boston English High School in 1943 and then enlisted in the Marine Corps.

He served as a flight navigator during World War II in the Pacific Theater.

After the war, he worked as a policeman for the Boston Police Department in 1948 while attending Suffolk University and Suffolk Law School.

He passed the bar in 1956 and worked as a public defender for a year.