Temple Tifereth Israel Expresses its Appreciation to Chief Delehanty

Temple Tifereth Israel rolled out the red carpet for retiring Police Chief Terence Delehanty at a recognition and appreciation celebration Sunday afternoon.

From the moment Chief Delehanty, his wife, Marcy Delehanty, and their daughter, Jennifer Delehanty, entered the function room, Temple members individually and as a group accorded the highly respected law enforcement professional and attorney a tremendous reception steeped in appreciation and gratitude.

Rabbi Flax’s opening remarks

Rabbi Benjamin Flax, spiritual leader of the Temple, expressed on behalf of the members “our profound gratitude for Chief Delehanty’s unwavering support and dedication to our community.”

“Throughout his tenure, Chief Delehanty has exemplified strength and integrity, ensuring the safety and well-being of all including our Jewish community,” said Flax. “His commitment extended far beyond duty; he embraced our community with open arms, nurturing relationship grounded in trust and understanding. His leadership was characterized by compassion and a deep sense of justice, values that resonate profoundly with our traditions.

“Your legacy will continue to inspire us, and your friendship will be cherished always. May your retirement be filled with joy, peace, and abundant blessings,” concluded Rabbi Flax.

Gifts from the congregation

Temple President Sandra Pellegrino also thanked the guest of honor.

“Chief Delehanty has been a wonderful source of strength to the Temple as well as to the community,” said Pellegrino. “On a personal level, he’s probably glad he’s retiring just because of the phone calls from me. It was so good to know that whenever we had an issue or he wanted to address something, he was on the phone with me in two minutes telling me this is happening and here’s what we’re doing. As president of the Temple, I want to thank you for all your support and kindness and concern not only for the Temple, but for the community as well.”

Temple member Amy Yorra presented flowers to Marcy Delehanty, “the woman behind the man.”

“We’d like to honor you and enjoy his retirement,” said Yorra.

“This is so thoughtful. I appreciate it,” said Marcy. “Thank you very much.”

Photographer Marty Levine presented a personal photograph of Temple Tifereth Israel to Delehanty. Levine thoughtfully applied a note to the photo stating on behalf of the congregation, “Please accept this gift as a token of thanks for many years of friendship and assistance.”

Temple Sisterhood President Eileen Wickham announced the highest honor that the Temple could bestow upon Terence Delehanty: a tree that will be planted in his honor outside the Temple.

“We’ve been friends a long time, since the kids were in drama [school], so I know how much you love the town,” said Wickham. “We were trying to think what we could honor you with. We’re planting a tree in your honor. We’re going to have a plaque right in front of the shul. In the fall, the DPW will plant a tree in your honor from all of us.”

Sen. Edwards, Councilor Belcher offer their congratulations

Sen. Lydia Edwards and Precinct 3 Councilor Hannah Belcher congratulated Delehanty on his retirement.

“I want to thank you for all the work that you have done,” said Edwards. “I think I speak on behalf of a lot of people that say he was more than a police chief. In many cases, he was the heart of the town, and you know that heart beats extremely strong when we’re in times of distress.”

Edwards said she appreciated the chief’s straight-forwardness about safety and security situations in Winthrop.

“When I read something in the newspaper, my first thought always was, ‘call the chief, he’s going to give it to me straight, tell me what the problem is, and how I can help.’ But nine times out of ten, he was already telling me how he was solving it.

“Chief Delehanty really knows how to gather people, to calm us, and direct us. I know he cares.

“I’m just so grateful to you, as we all are, said Edwards in closing.”

Belcher told the Temple members, “It’s really important to thank the chief for his work over the years and in our community. I can speak for myself and many others when I say I’m confident that our community is safe and protected because we have people like the chief with their eyes on the whole community.”

A humble and heartwarming speech from the Chief

“I just want to thank everyone for coming out here and for these wonderful speeches. My wife thought my head would get smaller as I get toward retirement, but she was wrong,” said Delehanty, smiling.

“There’s a lot of great people in the community. We don’t do it alone. We do it with community members and family support. We do it with great department heads and great partnerships. When I took over as chief, it was a divided community and the Health Department, the Police Department, the Fire Department, the DPW came in and we all got on the same message, the same team – we are all one. The community is all one, whether you’re part of the Temple, the Catholic church, or the Episcopal church, it doesn’t really matter. We’re community members and we care for one another, and we care about one another. I’d like to say I was born with that, but you get taught that. I was taught that from my parents and my aunt, Marie, who lived down the Point who was like a second mother to me. And of course, my wife. When I complained, she was able to balance me off to say, ‘stop your complaining, this is a beautiful community event that we do,’ especially around the Fourth of July fireworks. I was never really all that excited about the fireworks. She said to me, ‘The kids love it.  We love it. Everyone loves it. The community loves it, so stop your complaining. So I want to thank her [Marcy] for always being there.”

Delehanty also thanked his wife for encouraging him to complete his law school studies.

“It’s the same thing she’s done consistently throughout our entire  marriage, and, of course, giving those values and those norms to my children and letting them see what support is inside the community, inside the family. You can do a lot and get a lot accomplished with a lot of support. So for them, I’m forever grateful.”

Thus concluded a beautiful tribute from the Temple to Chief Delehanty. It had to be an immensely prideful day for Jennifer Delehanty, a student at prestigious Tulane University, as she listened to the speeches and learned firsthand how much her father means to the community of Winthrop and the exceptional leadership he showed as chief in ensuring the safety of all the town’s residents.

It was a memorable afternoon for the Delehanty family, to say the least.