Photo By PAULA MULLER
Mary Cronin Lopresti, who just received a plaque of gratitude from the vets, gets a hug from Harry MacCabe at the Lynn City Hall Veterans Office.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — Monday was a day to salute the longest serving employee at the Department of Veterans’ Services.
Mary Cronin LoPresti has worked for the department for 46 years and said she has no intentions to leave any time soon. She was recognized for her hard work and dedication to her job by a few of the many veterans she has helped throughout her long career in Lynn.
“It’s a nice job. I love working with the veterans,” LoPresti said. “… I like to help them all.”
“Mary has been helping veterans since they were coming home from Vietnam,” said Mike Sweeney, director of the Lynn Department of Veterans’ Services. “The best part is she still has the passion to help the returning guys today in the same way.
“It’s really been an honor to work with her for the last 10 years,” Sweeney said.
LoPresti said a few of her duties within the department include helping veterans find housing, temporary financial assistance from the state, and helping them file Veterans’ Affairs applications, which help them receive federal aid, pensions and compensations, she said.
Dave Legere, a veteran from Lynn who frequents the department, said he and his wife Dotty Legere thought of honoring LoPresti when they realized she had never been recognized for what she does for others on a daily basis.
“I’ve been dealing with Mary for many years as a veteran,” Legere said. “Nobody ever did anything for her that we knew about.”
“I worked at Spaulding Hospital and she helped so many of my veterans,” said Dotty Legere. “She was so wonderful to the veterans and all the patients. She always had the answers for them.”
Dave Legere said he brought up the idea to honor her at a meeting with members of the Sgt. Robert Gautreau V.F.W. Post 6536, which, he said, still meets regularly despite the Post closing down.
“I brought it up at a meeting and everybody had something good thing to say about Mary,” he said. “Everybody had a story about her. We decided that day to do something,” he said.
Legere said he went to Harrington Trophy on Chestnut Street right away to have a plaque made to present to LoPresti.
“They know Mary at Harrington (Trophy) too and they were behind it,” Legere said.
Veterans started showing up to the office shortly before noon Monday, LoPresti said. She said she was completely unaware that anything was planned but started to become suspicious just before the plaque was presented to her.
“They presented (the plaque) to me and then we were taking photos,” she said.
Shortly after receiving the plaque, her siblings Geri, Margie, and Fred Cronin also surprised LoPresti by arriving at the office to celebrate their sister’s hard work.
Still, LoPresti remained humble about the work she does for others.
“It’s very nice (to be honored) but we all help the veterans in the office,” she said.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]
