‘A great and loyal friend’

FALLS VILLAGE — This week, friends and colleagues shared their thoughts about Jack Mahoney, who died Saturday, May 14. (For a full obituary, turn to Page A10.)“He was wonderful,” said Town Clerk Mary Palmer at Town Hall. “I think they should name the tennis courts after him.” Mahoney, an avid tennis player and instructor, was instrumental in getting the tennis courts near Housatonic Valley Regional High School built. And in fact, the courts are named after Mahoney, who was a longtime principal at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. They are also named for Roland Chinatti, who was the school’s athletic director for many years.Mahoney remained devoted to the high school in the years after he retired. In addition to traveling around the United States to visit other schools and study “best practices” in education, he was also tirelessly devoted to the school’s 21st Century Fund.Louis Timolat called Mahoney “one of the good guys in life. He left Housatonic, but he didn’t. That’s the sign of someone who doesn’t just have a job and punch out.”Mahoney was famous for a puckish twinkle in his eye and his quick wit. He was a wizard with language and, as a former English teacher, liked prose that was tight and clear. “The only thing I ever had against him,” Timolat quipped, “is he accused me of speaking only in paragraphs.”Region One School District Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, who started as principal at Sharon Center School when Mahoney was principal at Housatonic, said, “He was a catalyst for the new science and technology building [in the former Clarke Wood agricultural education building], he really got that started.”For that and for his many other contributions to the school and the district, she said, “We’ll miss him terribly.”Longtime friend and fellow teacher Woods Sinclair described Mahoney as “a good Irishman. We taught together starting in 1964 in the English department [at Housatonic]. We were good friends. I always admired him as a teacher — he put the students first.”And another comrade of many years standing, Ed Kirby, said when Mahoney first moved to Sharon in 1964, they commuted together to the high school. Mahoney was Kirby’s assistant baseball coach, and they forged a bond that lasted decades. Kirby was also a principal at the high school and then the region’s superintendent.Kirby remembered when then-Superintendent Bill Nolan put the two men together to design and teach a summer school course on the history and literature of the upper Housatonic Valley. “That was the genesis of the Upper Housatonic Heritage Area we have today,” Kirby said.Mahoney was “a superior teacher,” Kirby added. “This is a rough one. He was a good man, and a great and loyal friend.”A memorial service has been planned at the high school on Friday, June 10, at 5 p.m. in the auditorium. A memorial tennis tournament is being tentatively planned for that evening, following the service. Anyone interested in participating should email Cynthia Hochswender at cynthiah@lakevillejournal.com to get the time and details and to confirm the tournament will be held.The tournament will be a fundraiser for the 21st Century Fund and will be held on the Mahoney/Chinatti courts at the high school. This article originally indicated the time of Jack Mahoney's memorial service at Housatonic Valley Regional High School would be at 3 p.m. on Friday, June 10. The service as indicated above and in the comment below will be at 5 p.m.