LYNN -A day after thousands turned out to mourn at a public wake service for former Mayor Patrick J. McManus, the pews at St. Pius V Parish were filled once again Wednesday as friends, family and colleagues joined to celebrate his life and say a final goodbye.
The mood was somber around 10:30 a.m. when Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. and local delegates including Sen. Thomas McGee and state Reps. Steven Walsh and Robert Fennell arrived to greet guests entering the church.Fennell recalled his own early days in political office and how he dreaded having to follow a speech by McManus, known for his oratorical skills. “I didn’t relish having to follow Pat,” he said. “He was a great speaker. He could speak without notes and just pull a quote from Yeats out of the air.”Fennell described the former mayor as a great person as well. “I admire him for adopting five children from China, for rescuing them,” he said. “He saved their lives and was a good father to them. So he has my utmost respect.”Members of the Lynn fire and police departments in dress uniform accompanied the McManus family into the church just after 11 a.m. while a large crowd gathered on the street. Mourners swapped stories about the deceased, the clear blue skies and drenching sunshine encouraging them to linger and recall the many special moments in the 54-year-old’s accomplished life.”It’s a sad day. We shared many happy memories,” said Charles Gaeta, executive director of the Lynn Housing and Neighborhood Development and longtime friend of McManus, adding that the former mayor was widely appreciated for his vast intellect and wit.Dozens of prominent business and government leaders shuffled into the church, just as they had done at the wake, where on Tuesday four former Lynn mayors simultaneously waited in line ? Irving Kane, Warren Cassidy, Thomas Costin and Albert DiVirgilio. Former Boston mayor Raymond Flynn also attended the funeral, as did several staff members from U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney’s office and representatives from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.”Pat was a mentor and a friend. He was someone who never looked down on anyone unless he was helping them up,” said Gordon “Buzzy” Barton, a retired Lynn firefighter and close friend of McManus who delivered a heart-felt eulogy. “He earned the respect of everyone he came in contact with.”An emotional Barton recalled growing up and becoming one of McManus’ best friends, admitting that he struggled to come up with the appropriate words to describe his relationship with the former mayor and looked to the heavens for help when putting the eulogy together.”There are some things in life that people work at and never seem to be able to achieve. One of those things is expressing how I feel about losing Pat McManus,” he said. “But I was talking to Pat and he said ‘just go up there and do the best you can.'”In a lighter moment, Barton also set the record straight about a childhood fistfight during which Barton was rumored to have broken McManus’ nose. Barton owned up to the incident, but said he wouldn’t take it back, for it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship between the two men.McManus’ sister, Colleen, shared stories of growing up with the man she called the family leader, and read accounts from their mother and siblings recalling humorous and touching incidents from throughout their childhood.From breaking a neighbor’s picture window during an impromptu baseball game using a majorette baton and bag of marbles, to breaking into an old woman’s garage and painting her car green, Colleen McManus’ words brought smiles to the faces of the mourning crowd, in many cases, for the first time since McManus died unexpectedly at the age of 54 last Friday.The funeral procession began at Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home, where McManus’ casket was transported to the church via hearse, and was carried in to the church while the sound of bagpipes filled the air. District Fire Chief James McDonald, Lt. Kevin Bradley, Lt. Matthew Reddy, Lt
