SALEM — Samuel Zoll, the North Salem paper boy who went on to become a city councilor, state representative, mayor and chief justice of the Massachusetts District Courts, died yesterday after a long illness. He was 76.
Diagnosed a year ago with advanced gall bladder cancer, Zoll succumbed early yesterday morning at his Chestnut Street home surrounded by family.
A legendary figure in modern city politics, Zoll is credited with preserving Salem's historic downtown by stopping the steamroller of urban renewal, securing the land for Pickering Wharf, taking Winter Island back from the federal government, and spearheading construction of the former Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital.
"He was mayor for three years, and within those three years his leadership preserved the best of our city," Mayor Kim Driscoll said.
"All of the successes that the City of Salem has had were built on Sam Zoll's three short years, which is why he is the greatest mayor in the history of Salem," said William Tinti, an attorney who served on the Salem Redevelopment Authority under Zoll.
Although he stepped down as chief justice in 2004, the legend of the homespun judge who once sentenced a troubled family to have dinner together for a month resurfaced two years ago when Scott Brown ran for the U.S. Senate.
Brown talked about his troubled youth during the campaign and about his arrest for shoplifting. He wound up before a stern Judge Zoll, who asked the boy about his interests and learned he played basketball. Zoll asked if he had thought how his actions would impact his family.
"He looked me dead in the eye — no smile — and said, 'How do you think they're going to like seeing you play basketball in jail?'" Brown recalled in his recent memoir. "That was like a sledgehammer hitting me in the head. It was the realization that I was going down the wrong path."
In a statement yesterday, Brown said: "He gave me a break at a time in my young life when I needed it most. I know things would have turned out quite differently if our paths had not crossed, and I remain grateful to him for the concern and humanity he showed to me."
Beyond his career in politics and the law, Zoll may be best remembered for personal traits: his sense of humor, compassion, legendary memory, high ethical standards, and devotion to his family and hometown.
'He loved Salem'
"He really loved Salem," said John Moustakis, a boyhood friend who played with Zoll at "The Pit," a North Salem playground, and later served in his administration. "I don't think I know anyone who liked Salem as much as he did."
When Zoll became a judge, the swearing-in ceremony was held at Salem State College, followed by a reception at Hamilton Hall. "The line went all the way down Chestnut Street," said Shirley Cervoni, a close friend.
When he became chief justice, the ceremony was at the Peabody Essex Museum. Sunday's memorial service will be at Salem High School.
"He's Salem's favorite son," Driscoll said.
In a memorial tribute, the main courtroom in the state courthouse under construction on Federal Street will be named for Zoll.
A few weeks ago, he was presented with a replica of the plaque that will go inside the new courthouse. A small group gathered at his house, including the mayor, state Rep. John Keenan and Robert Mulligan, chief justice for administration and management of the Massachusetts Trial Courts.
While they came to brighten Zoll's day, it was the dying man who, as he always did, cheered them.
"You came away from being with him feeling uplifted," Mulligan said. "He was so innately decent. ... I know for Salem it's a terrible loss. It's a loss for all us."
During that last meeting, Zoll thanked Keenan — as he often did — because Keenan's mother took care of Zoll's dying father so many years ago.
"I told my wife that was probably one of the most special days" in my legislative career, Keenan said.
"He made everybody he talked to feel like his best friend," said Avram Hammer of Marblehead, a longtime friend who biked and swam with Zoll.
"Early in the morning, you'd take a walk in downtown Salem and you'd find somebody sleeping on a bench. Sam would talk to him and make him feel like a million bucks. When we'd take a bike ride, people would say hi to Sam, and some were really down and out, and he'd respond to them like they were the most important person in the world."
Cycling and swimming
Zoll was such a popular figure in the city, swimming at Waikiki Beach as recently as last summer, that people often forgot he was one of the most powerful figures in the state. As chief justice of the state district courts, he oversaw nearly 70 district courts, more than 175 judges and a $200 million budget.
After Zoll's mandatory retirement at age 70, Gov. Mitt Romney appointed him chairman of the Joint Labor-Management Committee, an important body that oversees collective bargaining between police, firefighters and municipalities.
Zoll was so unassuming that people sometimes didn't realize he was a judge.
Billy Starr, founder and executive director of the Pan-Mass Challenge, said he met Zoll, who was wearing a sailor's cap and plaid pants, on a ferry coming back from Cape Cod with other participants in what was then a fledgling charity bike event. When Zoll asked how he might help, Starr said he replied, "That depends on who the hell you are."
Starr, who became a close friend, told the judge he wanted to expand the event but needed to get the Massachusetts Maritime Academy as an overnight stop. Thanks to Zoll, Mass Maritime has been a stop for the past quarter-century.
Since then, the Pan-Mass Challenge has grown from 300 to 5,000 riders, who last year raised $33 million for cancer research, making it one of the biggest charity events in the country.
"Sam opened that door," Starr said.
Paper boy to politics
Zoll's political career began in an unlikely place. The lanky youth and son of a Lithuanian immigrant was forever pulling a red wagon stacked with newspapers up and down the hills of North Salem. In addition to newspapers, he shoveled sidewalks and ran errands for families on his route.
"Everybody knew Sam from his paper route, and they would tell other people about Sam, and it just grew and grew," said John Smedile, an old friend.
Zoll started delivering papers when he was 8 years old and continued into adulthood. "The day I graduated from college," he once said, "I had to come back to do my paper route."
In his first run for elective office, a 23-year-old Zoll pulled off a shocker by defeating a sitting City Council president. "He took me lightly," Zoll once said.
While a councilor and later council president, he worked as a schoolteacher in Danvers and attended Suffolk University Law School at night.
Zoll was elected mayor in 1970 with urban renewal all the rage and part of Salem's downtown already leveled. Determined to save the city's historic buildings and squares, Zoll ordered the Salem Redevelopment Authority board to resign and appointed a new board. He stopped urban renewal in its tracks.
"It took incredible courage and foresight," Driscoll said.
When the U.S. Department of Defense wanted to take Winter Island as a training facility, Zoll went down there with a small team of police and politicians and legally reclaimed it for the city.
"We took the city flag, went around the fence ... and planted the flag," said Joe O'Keefe, a longtime city councilor. "He saved Winter Island."
As he rose in politics, Zoll never forgot his boyhood friends, and named many to positions in city government. It wasn't just loyalty, he once said. These were friends he could trust.
Larry McIntire, one of his oldest friends, became the city's park superintendent; John Moustakis served on the Licensing Board and later the Planning Board; and Smedile was named civil defense director.
In return, they were devoted to Zoll.
"He was the most honest person I ever met," McIntire said.
"If you can say one thing about Sam," Moustakis said, "he had vision."
A promise kept
Nancy Fabiszewski, another product of North Salem, was Zoll's secretary in his law office and later when he was chief justice. Long ago, he promised to preside at her daughter's marriage, and kept that promise even though the wedding was April 3 — three weeks ago.
"He insisted," Fabiszewski said. "He promised he would do it, and he did."
Many of Zoll's oldest and closest friends were almost too emotional yesterday to talk. Even though they had braced for this day for months, they were overwhelmed with the loss of a man who meant so much to them and to the city.
"You can't imagine Salem without Sam Zoll," Cervoni said.
Staff writer Tom Dalton can be reached at tdalton@salemnews.com.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this article.
Sam Zoll's career
Born: June 20, 1934
Salem City Council: 1958-65
City Council president: 1959-60
State representative: 1965-69
Mayor: 1970-73
District court judge: 1973-76
District court chief justice: 1976-2004
Joint Labor-Management Committee chairman: 2004-2010
Died: April 26, 2011
Memorial service is Sunday
A public memorial service will be held this weekend for former Mayor Samuel Zoll, who died yesterday.
When: Sunday, May 1, 10 a.m.
Where: Salem High School
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