Lynn ceremony to honor Boverini

LYNN – Family members, former colleagues and state leaders pay tribute today to the late Walter J. Boverini’s commitment to improving Lynn Shore Drive.Before retiring from the state Senate in 1994, Boverini made securing taxpayer money to pay for the waterfront drive’s improvements a top priority. The work was done and legislative colleagues and state officials are scheduled to gather at Red Rock Park at 11 a.m. to name the walkway bordering the drive and the park in Boverini’s honor.Boverini’s career spanned World War II, Lynn’s public schools and its sports fields.After graduating from high school in Lynn, he served as a B-17 gunner in the Second World War. He flew 35 combat missions and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.After the war he attended Boston College, earned a Master’s degree from Calvin Coolidge College in Boston and received two honorary doctorate degrees from New England School of Law and Salem State College.Boverini became a teacher, football coach and eventually a vice principal before running for and winning a seat in the Massachusetts House. He served one term and was elected to the state Senate in 1972 and was the Senate majority leader when he retired. Boverini died in 2008.