New Senior Center Kitchen Named for Former Police Chief John Polio

Virginia Polio learned about her future husband's strong will and committment to Braintree when she went in for an interview to be a secretary for the police department.

Chief John Polio told her that he considered himself a father figure to the town and asked her about her own strength of loyalty. She would be as loyal to him as he allowed by earning it, Virginia said.

Over the decades after that interview, Polio earned not only Virginia's loyalty, but also that of Braintree's seniors, who he committed to serving after retiring from the force in 1988.

On Thursday afternoon, local officials, seniors and the family of John Polio gathered to unveil the sign naming the Senior Center's new kitchen after him. Itw was recently completed after a six-and-a-half-year, $100,000 renovation process, in large part thanks to Polio's vision and determination.

"John was an Imagineer," Virginia said. "A dreamer. A visionary. And he dreamed big."

Polio was appointed Braintree's chief of police in 1962 and served in that post for 26 years. After that, he became involved with the then Council on Aging, heading the department for a time, and plowing through a number of projects, including upgrading much of the building on Cleveland Avenue. One of the last projects Polio started before he died in 2010 was the kitchen.

"He always said, 'If you feed them, they will come," Council on Aging Associates President Jack Ryan said.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan also made a point to honor Virginia "Ginny" Polio's "tenacity" in following through on the project. 

"You may have quarreled with John on occasion as I did," Sullivan told the crowd on Thursday, but you also appreciated Polio's committment and dedication. "He did have a soft voice, but also a strong mind as well as a strong will."