Hometown Honors Former Massachusetts Governor With Memorial

Former Gov. Paul Cellucci was honored in his hometown of Hudson on Sunday.

Cellucci, who also served as US. Ambassador to Canada, died in 2013 of Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

His wife and two daughters were at the event, and his grandchildren introduced David Alward, Consul General of Canada to New England.

Two granite memorial benches were unveiled in Cellucci’s honor.

One of the benches reads: “Paul Cellucci began his lifelong devotion to public service in 1970 as a member of Hudson’s Charter Commission and Board of Selectmen. After serving as a State Legislator and Senator, he became Governor of the Commonwealth from 1997 to 2001. He culminated his 35 years in public service, as our nation’s ambassador to Canada from 2001 to 2005.

Both Massachusetts Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and former chief of staff to President George W. Bush Andrew Card attended Sunday morning’s event.

During the ceremony, Lee Dinner of the Hudson Rotary Club, with Jan Cellucci, presented a donation to UMass ALS Cellucci Fund.

The goal of the UMass ALS Cellucci Fund is to create a $10 million endowment to seed the boldest research ideas in the interdisciplinary labs under the direction of Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, one of the world’s foremost authorities on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Argeo Paul Cellucci died at the age of 65, from complications of ALS in 2013. Cellucci launched the fund in 2011.

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Photos supplied by Jon Fetherston of Ashland.