LYNN — St. Mary’s will induct eight new members into the school’s Hall of Fame on April 28 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
At the event, the school will also honor James Baldini ’66 with the Cardinal Cushing Award, presented to a vigorous champion of Catholic education whose personal and professional life mirrors St. Mary’s mission. Baldini has remained an active alumnus and generous benefactor, with labs bearing his name in the new STEM building.
Gov. Charlie Baker and his wife, Lauren, will receive the Connell Service Award, presented to individuals who provide consistent and exemplary service. The award is named for William F. Connell ’55, whose boundless generosity to the school included a $5 million bequest. Gov. Baker has been a major proponent of education in his time in government, while as first lady Lauren Baker helped launch the Wonderfund, a private nonprofit that provides resources and opportunities to children engaged with the Department of Children and Families.
The St. Mary’s Hall of Fame acknowledges alumni and friends who have exemplified St. Mary’s pillars for success: Catholicism, excellence, integrity and respect. Inductees are chosen for their service to the St. Mary’s community and their altruistic generosity toward others. Alumni who will be inducted are: Mary Ann Calnan ’77, Dr. Nicole Chandler ’91, Thomas Clinton Sr. ’58, Jean Mullen Irzyk ’43, William ’63 and Sheila Martin ’63, Terence McGinnis ’63 and Dr. Richard Peinert ’65.
Calnan, a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk Law School, has practiced law for more than 30 years, concentrating in workers’ compensation. She is a founding partner of the women-owned firm Calnan, Freeley & Pellegrini, which specializes in insurance law. In 2018, she was the recipient of the James Garretson Advocacy Award for excellence and professionalism in and out of the courtroom. Last year, she was elected president of the Greater Lynn Bar Association. Calnan has served on the St. Mary’s Board of Trustees since 2015.
Chandler is chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery and the director of pediatric surgery research at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was named the hospital’s physician of the year in 2017. Chandler graduated from Holy Cross and earned her medical degree from UMass Medical School – Worcester, where she completed her general surgical residency. She is an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Clinton excelled in football, basketball and baseball at St. Mary’s. He went on to Boston College and joined the Marine Corps, becoming a lieutenant and leading Marines in combat. In late April of 1965, he was among the thousands of U.S. troops sent to the Dominican Republic to intervene during the Dominican Civil War. Upon discharge, he enrolled at Boston College Law School and practiced law from 1970 until his retirement in 2015. He was a founding partner of the Boston-based maritime law firm Clinton & Muzyka.
An advocate for women and the disadvantaged, Irzyk came of age at a time when the world was at war. She graduated from Salem Hospital School of Nursing and went to work where she was most needed. Following her nursing career, Irzyk pursued a career in modeling and later taught at the John Robert Powers modeling agency and junior colleges for women. She went on to study at Harvard University, earning a master’s in Western Literature at age 60.
United in their dedication to St. Mary’s, the Martins first met while they were St. Mary’s students and have been married for 53 years. Billy graduated from Holy Cross and began a successful career in the automotive industry with Nissan, and later Chesterton, a Groveland-based company that helps manufacturers improve the reliability and efficiency of their power equipment platforms. Always generous with their time and resources, the Martins remain loyal to St. Mary’s.
For McGinnis, the faith and values instilled in him by his parents and St. Mary’s have served him well throughout his personal and professional life. He graduated with honors from Merrimack College and served almost four years active duty and 24 years in the Navy Reserve. He earned a master’s at Boston College and a law degree from BC Law School and worked as an associate counsel in Washington, D.C. for a Congressional committee chaired by U.S. Rep. Joseph Moakley. He embarked on a lengthy career in the legal side of banking, starting in the law department at Bank Boston and eventually becoming general counsel at Eastern Bank. In 2016, Gov. Charlie Baker appointed him Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks. In 2018 he joined Nutter, McClennen & Fish, where he is senior counsel. The recipient of the E. Augustus Holyoke, M.D. Award from Salem Hospital, McGinnis served on the hospital’s board of trustees for 24 years. McGinnis named labs and a grotto to the Blessed Mother in honor of his parents on St. Mary’s campus.
Peinert has practiced medicine on the North Shore for almost 50 years, specializing in cosmetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery. He excelled at St. Mary’s, graduating as valedictorian and earning acceptances at Harvard and Yale, but turning down both offers to attend Williams College, where he also played football. He went on to Harvard Medical School. He operated a private practice in Lynnfield for 40 years and served as chief of plastic surgery at Union, Melrose-Wakefield and Salem hospitals. He was a member of the Lynnfield Board of Health for 26 years. He currently practices with Dr. Howard Goldberg in Swampscott. He is also the medical director of Younger Faces, based in Marblehead.
