Editorial: Farewell to Sam

It takes a lot of activists to make a great neighborhood. Sam Sherwood, whose death earlier this year was recently announced, was among JP’s best.

Sam, typically in concert with Sarah Freeman, worked tirelessly on park preservation, pedestrian safety and a host of other results-scoring quality-of-life improvements.

He was a strong advocate for the JP Branch Library, where he often could be found, and also for the Arborway, the street where he lived and which he loved, always reminding us that it is as much parkland as roadway.

To friends, helpful officials and journalists, Sam was a friendly talker and storyteller. Run into him outside the library, and he might provide an hour’s worth of local lore and behind-the-scenes organizing secrets.

To Boston’s many petty bureaucrats and blowhards, Sam was the devastating voice of reason booming from the back of the room to cut through the smokescreens. His voice could be thunderous, but always tempered with a hint of his old Texan drawl, his critiques of the silliness du jour delivered not as rants, but with a newscaster’s voice-of-god authority.

As random examples, Sam was among the great warriors against the City’s goofy plan to shuttered local libraries some years ago; he was among the great advocates who helped rescue the Boston Park Rangers mounted unit from de-funding.

To officials who wanted to collaborate and support the neighborhood, Sam was a valuable partner. To officials who wanted to fool or bully JP, Sam was always there to get the last word.

We’ll give him the last word one last time. Here’s something Sam told the Gazette once upon a time, and it’s among the words JP can live by:

“I believe with my heart and soul that our schools and our libraries are a reflection of who we are.”