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Engineering’s McIntyre and Mari retire after 66 years

Pearse McIntyre

earse McIntyre and Lou Mari have given countless hours to Children’s. Sixty-six combined years of answering calls, coming in at all hours from home, shoveling snow and doing anything and everything to make Children’s a comfortable place to work and get care.

McIntyre started in the hospital’s Carpentry Shop in 1967, became the shop foreman in 1974 and was promoted to supervisor in 1996. After 37 years, he is retiring, but not without a legacy. A father of four, his daughters Fionna and Sheila both work at Children’s, as do their husbands. And many say McIntyre’s dedication to Children’s is unwavering.

For the past three years, Janet McGillicuddy, Patient Services administrator for 6 East, has worked closely with McIntyre, witnessing firsthand his dedication to the hospital. “When rooms were scheduled to be empty, Pearse would update them from top to bottom—whether it was putting in a new bathroom floor, painting a room or replacing lights,” she says. “He was always looking for ways to improve the patients’ surroundings. He took his job to heart and really loved the children.”

Also retiring this month is 29-year employee Lou Mari. Dan Keefe, Research Facilities coordinator, who worked with Mari for 15 years in Engineering, says, “Mari was an excellent craftsman. He got to know everybody in the Enders building personally, and everyone in the department got along with him.”

It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that his colleagues have talked about making him the social director of Engineering for years. Or should it? It is in fact a running joke because Mari, along with being a bit shy about making public appearances, greatly dislikes parties.
His department nickname is rumored to be the “bah-hum-bug guy,” because he so openly tries to avoid social gatherings. (He likes parties only slightly more than he likes having his picture taken, perhaps an explanation for the absence of his photo in this article). His social outlook is certainly not indicative of his devotion to the hospital.

Nancy Forman, who has worked with both Mari and McIntyre for nearly 15 years, says it best, “If the hospital needed them, whether it be a snow storm, heavy rains or mechanical problems at 5 p.m. or 2 a.m., you could always count on Lou and Pearse to be right here, making sure everything was being done to take care of the hospital so the hospital could take care of the kids.”

“There are lots of great people working here, and you can’t spend 37 years anywhere without getting some help,” says McIntyre, explaining how grateful he is to many people in his department and throughout the hospital. “I thoroughly enjoyed all my years here. I think it’s a great place.”