This Father’s Day, the Daily Item chose to highlight dads in local communities who have stood out as exceptional fathers. Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!
LYNN
Marvin Avery
For over 30 years, Marvin Avery has been a fixture in the Lynn sports scene, known not only for building powerhouse basketball programs but also for shaping the lives of countless young men on and off the court.
“I’ve been coaching in the city of Lynn for 30 years, and I enjoy coaching because I love seeing young men make something of themselves,” he said. “Everyone’s not going to be the best player, but I’ve always been drawn to picking the best kid, one with heart, the one who wants to grow.”
Avery’s coaching legacy extends deeply into his personal life, especially as he had the rare opportunity to coach his own sons, Marquese and Marvin Jr. “They were always around the gym with me, always watching, learning,” he said. “They saw how I coached others, and when it came time to coach them, they already knew what the standards were.”
Marquese is now a football player at the University of Rhode Island, while Marvin Jr., an outstanding basketball talent, currently attends Austin Prep. Their growth, Avery says, has been one of the greatest joys of his life.
“Being a father is about more than just raising your own kids,” he said. “It’s about treating all kids with respect and teaching them to treat others the same, no matter their background, race, or beliefs. I’ve always tried to instill that in my sons.”
Born and raised in Lynn, Avery chose to raise his family in the same city that shaped him.
“My parents raised me and my brothers in this community, and I’ve had so many opportunities because of it,” he said. “All my family is here—my siblings, nieces, nephews. I’m proud to be a Lynn father, and to have my kids grow up in the same place where I found success.”
When asked to recall his favorite memory as a father, Avery’s answer is simple: “Seeing my kids born. That moment—it’s everything.”
Fatherhood, he says, has taught him patience, respect, and the value of mentorship. “It taught me to be thankful. Some people never get to have children, so I don’t take it for granted. I’ve learned to care for all kids, not just my own.”
As he continues his work at Classical, Avery hopes to keep paying it forward—coaching, guiding, and inspiring the next generation of student-athletes in the city he’s always called home.
And this Father’s Day?
“I want to wish all the fathers in Lynn and everywhere a happy, safe Father’s Day,” Avery said. “Stay healthy. Be proud. And remember how lucky we are to be called ‘Dad.’”
LYNNFIELD
Walter Radulski
Walter Radulski is the father of three: 21-year-old Anna, a senior at Purdue University; 20-year-old Charlotte, a junior at West Chester University; and 18-year-old Walter, a 2025 Lynnfield High graduate who is going to the University of Indiana.
Radulski said being a dad “means the world to me. I’ve loved watching them grow up and turn into awesome adults.”
Radulski grew up in Andover. He met his wife, Aimee, a Pennsylvania native, while the two were on “adult spring break” during a Memorial Day sailing tournament on Nantucket.
He said they ended up choosing to live in Lynnfield somewhat accidentally.
“We were actually looking to rent in Boston, but we both loved the North Shore area, being close to the beach and mountains,” he said. “We really kind of stumbled into Lynnfield. It was 2002, and our broker said a house had just come on the market in Lynnfield that she thought we’d like. We saw it and loved it and have been here ever since. I can’t imagine our kids growing up anywhere else.”
All three Radulski children were multiple-sport athletes at Lynnfield High.
You name the game — from youth sports all the way up through college – and Walter and his wife, Aimee, were (and still are — more on that later) there not only cheering the team on, but most likely helping out with Aimee snapping photos for the teams and Walter in the press box manning the mic doing play-by-play for the baseball and football teams, usually with Dewey, the family dog, alongside with his Pioneers’ logo bandana tied around his neck.
Today, however, Walter will be in the grandstands at Polar Park in Worcester, where the Pioneers’ baseball team will be playing for a state championship – its first since 1961.
Radulski said there is no place he would rather be and that winning a title would be the perfect way to celebrate Father’s Day this year.
“That would make for an incredible Father’s Day, honestly,” he said. “I can’t really say it would be at the top, but it’s definitely right up there for sure. I just hope the boys can win it.”
Radulski said it’s hard to pinpoint his favorite memory as a father – it’s more about enjoying the present.
“I just enjoy that every day creates new experiences and new memories, but certainly things like the baseball run this year and dropping the girls off at college are all memories I know I’ll have forever. The same, I am sure, with dropping Walter off at Indiana this fall. We really have always done things as a family because both Aimee and I come from close-knit families, so I guess anytime we get together with family, probably is one of the best memories I have.”
With all three children away at college, this fall, the Radulskis will be empty-nesters.
But rest assured, there will be plenty of opportunities to make more memories.
“We’re going to be doing some traveling to visit the kids at their schools, I am sure,” Radulski said. “We will get to as many of Charlotte’s rugby games at West Chester as we can and probably will see more of Anna as well to make up for the fact that last fall, with Walter’s football and Anna being abroad, we didn’t get out there as much as we’d like. And the same with Walter at Indiana.”
Radulski said the one thing he has learned from being a father is to stay in the moment.
“It’s all those little things that are right in front of you every day,” he said. “That’s what being a parent and family are all about. It’s the girls scoring their first goals. It’s Walter’s first hit in baseball and winning a youth football Super Bowl. Making the final four this week on our home field was awesome. All those things combined are the things I’ve learned to appreciate and enjoy every day. I’m hoping for more today if the boys can win it all. That would be a great way for them to go out.”
MARBLEHEAD
Fred Ferris
Fred Ferris, owner of Marblehead Hardware, which he’s owned for four years, is the father of two girls, Ellie and Maddie.
“There isn’t one answer to what being a father means,” he said. “It changes. It starts with diapers and monsters under the bed, moves on to teaching them how to ride a bike, and then you blink and it’s boyfriends, breakups, and ‘Should I buy a car?’”
Through the laughter and stories, one thing is clear: fatherhood, for him, has never been static; it shifts with each stage of his daughters’ lives.
Ferris and his wife made a conscious decision to settle down in Marblehead, moving from Nantucket.
“We lucked out,” he says. “This town has character. It’s not cookie-cutter. There’s a sense of history and a mix of locals and oddballs—you just have to open your eyes to see them.”
When asked about favorite fatherhood memories, he pauses. “Too many,” he finally says. “But, I saw Paul Simon with my oldest daughter. That’ll stick with me. And a few years ago, I drove across the country with the other one to pick up a yellow pickup truck in Little Rock, Arkansas.”
Dance recitals, road trips, quiet coffee mornings, and big debates—they all form a patchwork of moments that have defined his experience as a dad, Ferris said.
Fatherhood, he adds, has also taught him humility and restraint. “Sometimes, being a good father means not saying anything.
“Some days you’re a great father in the morning, and a terrible one by dinner,” he laughs. “It all changes.”
He added, but the one that’s constant is that “I’ve never taken being a father for granted.”
NAHANT
Rob Liebow
As the Superintendent of Schools, Liebow knows all about the importance of a father figure in their children’s lives.
He began by explaining how fatherhood is one of the central themes in his life.
“It means the world to me. There’s nothing more important than being a father… We all have fathers, obviously, and I feel like everyone knows how important they are in kids’ lives. I mean, in terms of role models and helping you learn what’s right and wrong,” Liebow said.
“I remember my father, and while he could be pretty tough, I carry what he taught me in everything that I do… So, it’s very important to just be there for them. My daughter’s going to be having a baby in November — and so now I’ll be a grandfather, too,” he said.
Liebow explained the deep joy he felt in watching his daughter accomplish more and more as she grew up.
“Oh, I just think it’s about those special moments of watching them succeed, watching them reach challenges, and seeing smiles on their faces when they do something well. That kind of thing can just make all the difference in the world to a kid,” he added.
Liebow expressed how he felt that fatherhood had made him wiser and had given him a different perspective on the world.
“It made me humble,” Liebow said. “It’s made me understand what’s really important in life… When you’re a father, it just puts everything really into perspective,” Liebow said.
PEABODY
Lenny Parsons
Lenny Parsons still hears “Hey Coach!” from kids he trained twenty years ago in the North Shore community. Most were boys, now in their thirties, that his son, Matt, grew up with in Everett. And many of them still remember dinners at the Parsons households and games on North Shore fields.
“One small bit of kindness that you show as an adult to a child has a ripple effect that spreads years and years,” Parsons said.
Parsons, now Head Varsity Girls Softball Coach at Malden Catholic High School, has coached football and softball in the area for 35 years. He has three children whom he raised to play sports, just like he did when he was growing up.
Matt was born when Parsons was a senior at Everett High School in 1992.
“I coached him in everything all the way up to college,” Parsons said.
Matt was named ESPN player of the year for the state of Massachusetts, and earned a full grant to play football for Princeton for four years.
Parsons’ two younger daughters, Isabella and Abigail, both play high-level softball. Isabella is a 14-year-old stand-out pitcher, and Abigail is a “Lil’ Ripper” in Salisbury’s Rip City USA team.
“My wife said that everything I did for Matt, I’d have to do for them,” Parsons said. “So I started coaching girls’ teams. Softball seemed to stick with my girls.”
Now, seeing them play on the same fields, under the same lights, and on the same grass as he used to is riveting to him. Growing up, Parsons had an older sister, a father who was away, and a working mother. He didn’t have the family surroundings he swore to give his kids.
Today, he coordinates daily with his wife, Rachelle Costello, for drop-offs and pick-ups, and is thrilled to do it.
“Everything I do with them is for them,” he said.
Now, he says, every day with his kids is a favorite memory of his.
SAUGUS
Vincent Serino
Vincent Serino, a father of four and chair of the school committee, took the time to share what being a father means in his eyes: showing up consistently, patiently, and wholeheartedly.
“It’s not just about providing or protecting; it’s about being present,” he said. “I learned from my dad that being a father comes with good times and tough times, but as a family, you can get through anything together.”
Serino described it as being a protector of your child’s dreams and doing anything to ensure they become good people and always do the right thing. “It means accepting the weight of responsibility,” he said.
When asked why he decided to raise his children in Saugus, Serino stated that he and his wife, Julie, made that decision because of the people and community.
“I am a fourth-generation in town, and it’s a hardworking town. We wanted our kids to grow up with the same values we had, emphasizing hard work, being a good citizen, and respecting others,” he said.
Serino then told a story about his son, Tyler, which made him feel proud to be from Saugus and a proud father. “My son Ty found a roll of cash the other day on the ground with a receipt attached. He went looking for who might have dropped it. He saw a woman upset and asked her, ‘What’s the matter?’ She told him about losing the money, and he returned it to her. To a father, that is a great moment. Moments like that make a dad proud,” he said.
He also mentioned that many of his friends stayed in town, and they raised their kids together.
“One of my friends who was at my wedding party, his daughter Emma, and my daughter Bella, are what the kids call BFFS,” he said.
When asked if he could pinpoint a favorite memory, he said that with four kids, he doesn’t have just one memory, but many moments.
“Being at our beach house in Mattapoisett, and all the sporting events throughout the years,” he said. “As a dad, I coached my kids growing up in the sports they played, and those were great moments.”
When asked what fatherhood taught him, he said, “Patience and love. Before being a dad, you could never understand why your parents did some of the things they did. After becoming a dad, it all makes sense. I always look back now and say, ‘You know, Dad was right.’”
Lastly, Serino wished every dad out there a Happy Father’s Day.
SWAMPSCOTT
Nate Fontes-Fried
Nate Fontes-Fried spoke first about the importance of just being present in the day-to-day moments in his kids’ lives, where he mentioned giving them the kinds of chances he never had while growing up.
“I guess to me it’s trying to provide a lot of things that I didn’t have growing up, and giving them a lot of exposure to things I wish I were exposed to growing up. I think it’s about just being a positive example for them,” he said. “Being a home-dad allows me to be home after school and do drop-offs in the mornings and afternoons. It’s important to be very present from when they get home to when they go to bed.”
Then, he went on to explain how the essence of community and activity is essential for kids to explore healthy outlets.
“I grew up in Marblehead. I had a tough time growing up there as a person of color in the 90’s, and I’m very familiar with this area, love to fish, have a boat, have all that opportunity… It’s great to be able to utilize the outdoors, it’s a big part of why we live here,” he said. “It’s a great town and great people, along with great other dads that I’ve gotten to know. I have a very solid network of support with the other dads, and I thought it’s important to mention that.”
Fried expressed that it’s not always about the big moments — that sometimes, it’s about being around for all the little moments in between the big milestones.
“Any time I get to be there for their first things is awesome — catching a big fish, or just being present, a lot of the big moments are great, but the little stuff after school is just awesome. I get to be there for it. I’ll ask, ‘What do you want to do today?’ and we just go from there,” he said.
Fried also touched on what fatherhood has taught him since he first became a father.
“Fatherhood has taught me a lot… I didn’t have somebody that was there a lot growing up, so I didn’t know what I was missing. The importance of being present, just being there for them.”
