B. Joseph Tully
Loving Father, Brother and Papa
B. Joseph Tully, 88, a former Massachusetts State Senator and Lowell City Manager, died peacefully on Sunday, November 1, 2015, at Lowell General Hospital. He was predeceased by his wife of 59 years Annette (Chouinard) Tully on April 16, 2009.
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on January 4, 1927 to the late Bernard and the late Ellen (Adams) Tully, he attended the Lowell Public Schools before graduating from Keith Academy in the class of 1944.
After high school he then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, serving in Panama during WWII until his honorable discharge in November 1946.
Joe graduated from Boston University in 1951 at the top of his class, earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration in three years time.
Shortly thereafter he started his own business, Tully Associates, representing manufacturing agents including the D-Con Company. He had a successful business career before entering politics in 1965, when he was elected to the Dracut Board of Selectmen.
In 1971 Joe was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in the 1st Middlesex District where he served as Chairman of The House Ways and Means Committee.
From 1979 to 1987 he served as Lowell City Manager. During his tenure he was instrumental in the revitalization of Lowell; his sensitivity to the needs of business served as a major catalyst to Lowell’s renaissance. His accomplishments as City Manager were many, but most outstanding of those were his work in bringing a first class Hilton Hotel and the Wang Corporate Education Center into the heart of downtown. He formed close working relationships between the private and public sectors in the city and along with Senator Paul Tsongas helped create the Lowell Plan.
During his tenure as City Manager Joe was invited to appear on the Today Show, after Lowell was ranked number one in the country in building permits. He also worked to stabiliz the real estate tax rate and to provide solid city services. He had a great deal of respect for City employees and the work that they did in the City that he loved.
In his free time he cherished his days in Seabrook Beach with his family, especially his two grandchildren.
Joe was a Past President of the Dracut Men’s Club and a former Dracut Youth Baseballl Coach. A life member of Long Meadow Golf Club, he also was a member of the Lowell Lodge of Elks.
He is survived by two daughters and a son; Sharon Tully of Dracut, Joseph R. Tully of Dracut, and Jo-Ann (Tully) Keegan and her husband John of Lowell. He leaves his two beloved grandchildren, James Tully Keegan and Kristina Ann Keegan, who were the greatest joy of his life from the moment they were born. He is also survived by his brother Francis Tully of Chelmsford and his son Stephen Tully and his daughter Ellen (Tully) Nutter, and his sister in law Elizabeth (Barrett) Tully and her son Andrew Tully; and many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Tully was predeceased by his youngest son Philip, his brother Richard Tully, and many sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.
The family would like to thank the staff at D’Youville Senior Care Center West Wing for the kind compassionate care given to their father.
Friends may call at the O’DONNELL FUNERAL HOME 276 PAWTUCKET ST. at Fletcher from 4 to 7 P.M. Thursday. Relatives and friends are invited to attend his Funeral Mass to be celebrated Friday morning at ST. MARGUERITE D’YOUVILLE CHURCH in Dracut at 10 o’clock. Burial will follow at the Oakland Cemetery in Dracut. E-condolences/directions at odonnellfuneralhome.com. Those wishing may make contributions in his memory to the Salvation Army, 150 Appleton St., Lowell, MA 01852. Arrangements by Funeral Directors James F. O’Donnell, Jr. and John W. Crane (978 or 866) 458-8768.
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