Pechinsky, a True 'Olympian'

Every town has its Olympians -- Peabody celebrated 12 years ago when former Peabodyite swimmer Samantha Arsensault won a gold medal in Sydney, Australia -- but one of Peabody's sons never actually got to compete himself even though he sent five of his students to the summer games.

Peabody native Joseph Pechinsky, who died last September at the age of 92, founded the Tanner City Fencing Club in the 1960s and saw students Scott Bozek, Molly Sullivan, Mary Jane O'Neill, niece Sally Pechinsky and Jane Angelakis compete for the United States. With the exception of his niece, all were two-time Olympians in the 1970s, '80s and '90s.

Years later, Pechinsky also worked with a sixth student Jed Dupree of New York, who likewise went on to fence at the Athens, Greece Olympics in 2004.

Pechinsky, a 1937 Peabody High grad, was a U.S. Army veteran -- he survived the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 -- and returned to the leather industry in his hometown after five years in the Army. He then joined the in 1952, retiring 31 years later in 1983.

Fencing wasn't actually Pechinsky's first love -- he started out coaching wrestling in the 1960s and learned all about fencing while recovering from a knee injury. He was also a painter and you can find his work at the Peabody Essex Museum and the Peabody Historical Society & Museum -- he captured the tanneries of old on canvas.

Pechinsky's fencing club, which has met over at the gym in the for years, initially started out at the Salem YMCA before being given some space in gym.

Through five decades of coaching, he was fondly remembered in the days after his death by students, friends, family and colleagues as a passionate, humble and charitable man -- a great coach, mentor and friend who treated everyone the same. He also gave lessons as needed wherever he had space: the firehouse, the union hall or his backyard.

Pechinsky's first Olympic fencing student was in fact his niece Sally, who went to the 1968 games on the women's foil team.

Bozek then competed in men’s epee in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, Angelakis fenced women’s foil in 1980 and 1984, Sullivan made women’s foil in 1988 and 1992 and O’Neill competed in women’s foil in 1988 and 1992.

Pechinsky also earned a number of accolades himself in the sport -- he was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 1996, was named a national coach for the U.S. Fencing Team, coached in the Pan American Games and continued to coach regularly at his Peabody club until 2006. He died Sept. 22, 2011.

The Tanner City Fencing Club lives on today with former students Jane Hall-Carter, James Carter and Molly Sullivan-Sliney as coaches.