Former northern Central Mass. US Rep. John Olver dies at 86

John W. Olver, who served both chambers of the Massachusetts Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives for a total of 44 years, died Thursday at his home in Amherst. He was 86.

Olver, a lifelong Democrat, represented the 1st Congressional District, which covered most of Western Massachusetts and a portion of northern Central Massachusetts including Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner.

In 2012, after representing the district of 21 years, Olver did not seek reelection. He was 76 at the time.

More:US Rep. Olver looks back on solid 40-year career

A year before retiring from politics, Olver's district was chopped up when redistricting cost Massachusetts one House district. As a result, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, gained Fitchburg and Gardner in the 3rd Congressional District, while U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, gained Leominster in the 2nd Congressional District.

“I’m deeply saddened to learn of the death of my friend and longtime colleague, Congressman John Olver,” McGovern said in a statement Friday. “A humble public servant with the heart of an activist, John was truly a champion for the people of Western and Central Massachusetts.

“His quiet demeanor and wry sense of humor concealed a razor-sharp understanding of the issues facing the American people and a deep faith in our ability to solve them together.”

In March 2012, Olver was arrested outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., along with Hollywood actor George Clooney and three other members of Congress — including McGovern — in protesting the blocking of food aid shipments to neighboring South Sudan.

“John and I were arrested together twice while protesting the genocide in Darfur outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The first time I asked him, I noted that we would likely be arrested and spend hours in jail. He agreed right away — his conscience would allow no less,” recalled McGovern. “The second time, I didn’t have to ask. John knew what was right and just did it. It was an honor to share a cell with him.

“His integrity and support of human rights remains a source of great inspiration for me and so many others around the world.“

Healey recalls advocacy

Late Friday, Gov. Maura T. Healey ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings.

“Congressman John Olver dedicated his life to serving the people of Western and Central Massachusetts and always stayed true to his values,” Healey said in a statement. “He was a strong advocate for affordable health care, abortion access, public transportation and rural communities.

“I will always be grateful for his kindness and his friendship. He will be dearly missed, and my heart goes out to his loved ones.”

As he ended his career as senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Olver's accomplishments included creating intermodal transportation centers in several communities in his district.

The largest of these projects involved Fitchburg and included a new transportation center along with an extension and upgrading of the commuter rail line, at a cost of about $350 million.

“Closer to home, John’s track record of accomplishments speaks for itself,” McGovern said. “On issues from clean energy to environmental protection to public transportation, he was a workhorse who went above and beyond to get the job done.”

In 2012, U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Malden, the senior member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, credited Olver's service on the appropriations panel for "helping rebuild our country's infrastructure" through his work on transportation issues.

"Congressman Olver is a public service powerhouse and a transportation titan," Markey said in 2012.

Pennsylvania native

Born Sept. 3, 1936, and raised on a farm in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, he tended cows with his father while his mother ran a boarding house.

He graduated from high school at 15, and from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, at 18, completing a master's degree in chemistry at Tufts, and a MIT doctorate at age 24.

Olver moved to Amherst in 1961 to teach chemistry at the University of Massachusetts for eight years. He also acquired an interest in public affairs at both the national and international levels.

In 1969, he went on sabbatical for a year, ran as a state representative for part of Hampshire County and won. What followed was two decades in the Massachusetts Legislature, where Olver dedicated much of his time to improving facilities and services for those with mental health issues.

Beginning in 1973, he served as a state senator for a district covering sections of Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire counties.

In 1991, when Republican U.S. Rep. Silvio Conte died of prostate cancer, Olver won a special election to succeed him by narrowly defeating former state House Minority Leader Steven Pierce. His only other close race since came in 1996, when he bested future acting Gov. Jane Swift, then a state legislator.

Olver was initially named to the Appropriations Committee in 1993. He was bumped off the panel in early 1995 when the Democrats lost their majority in the House, but regained the appropriations seat two years later.

Assigned to the Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee in 2007, Olver said, his emphasis there has been to advance renewable energy. He steered funds to Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner for construction of two wind turbines, one of which was dedicated in his honor.

Olver spent six years on the Appropriations Military Construction subcommittee, where he worked to procure funds to improve the state's Air National Guard bases in Westfield and Chicopee.

On both the local and national scene, Olver worked to keep water clean and forest and agricultural land free from development.

“Olver's commitments were firm, steady and progressive. He believed in using diplomacy rather than military force in international disputes, consistently voting against increased funding and deployment for military operations,” according to his obituary.

Olver co-sponsored a bill to introduce universal health insurance. On the question of abortion, he was solidly pro-choice. He supported efforts to reform immigration laws to allow entrance to qualified immigrants, convinced also that undocumented immigrants should be offered a pathway to citizenship.

Throughout his tenure, Olver has exhibited a strongly liberal voting record. On the whole, he believes his constituents are "quite satisfied" with his stances on issues, but acknowledged his district's changing nature. He said it has become "considerably more conservative" on its eastern side.

After retiring from politics, Olver worked with the Kestrel Trust and the Mount Grace Land Trust.

In 2014, UMass gave Olver an honorary degree in public service. His wife, Rose, died at age 77 that year.

Olver advocated for a high-rise building on the university's Amherst campus to be built of wood rather than steel. That building, the largest academic contemporary wood structure in the country, was named the John W. Olver Design Building in 2017.

Although he would change some decisions in hindsight, Olver, in 2012, emphasized he was comfortable with his voting record and he considered himself a "product of the committees" he served on during his 40-year state and federal legislative career.

"I came in as a liberal Democrat and I will go out as a liberal Democrat," Olver said as he packed up his office in the Longworth House Office Building before exiting for good back in 2012.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Former Mass. legislature and U.S. Rep. John W. Olver dead at 86