Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire reported to work at the police department Dec. 26, just like he had done for the last 34 years. He was scheduled to work his normal shift that day, responding to calls between 3:30 and 11:30 p.m.

But the day was a bit different—Woburn was preparing for one of the biggest blizzards the city had seen in years.

Maguire responded to calls that night, driving through blinding snow and harsh winds. One call was to a local home, where a woman was contemplating suicide. Maguire and other officers calmed down the woman. A tragedy averted.

But at around 8:40 p.m. that night, Maguire took his last call as a Woburn Police patrolman. 

Maguire and Police Officer Glenn Grammer responded to Kohl's Department Store on Washington Street for a report of an armed robbery. Grammer arrived on scene first, as the suspects were fleeing the scene.

Maguire blocked one of the suspects, who turned a gun on the police veteran. During the exchanged gunfire in the middle of a snowy, empty Washington Street, Maguire was felled by four gunshots.

Grammer was heard on the radio, frantically requesting an ambulance for the injured patrolman, while attempting to apprehend the man who shot Maguire. At first, Grammer thought the killer was hiding in the snow. But police soon discovered Maguire had fatally wounded his own killer.

Although Woburn Fire responded to the scene immediately and brought Maguire to Lahey Clinic in Burlington, it was too late. Maguire had been killed in the line of duty.

Over his 34 years of service, Maguire responded to thousands of calls.

Woburn resident Laurel Collins remembered when he came to her house in 2007 after she reported an act of vandalism.

"He was kind, caring, and appropriately concerned for my and my kids' safety," she recalled. "He put me at ease, and was not judgmental, in a way no other police officer ever did. I value his service that day to my family, my four children mostly."

"What an amazing man taken far too soon," she added.

Dawn McQueeney, a former Woburn resident, said she recalls talking with Maguire while he worked street details, or walked during his shift.

"I also worked at 7-11 and I saw him daily," she said. "He was a great man, pleasant, caring, always willing to give that hand if you needed it."

"He will be missed, but never forgotten," she continued.

Ralph DiTucci, whose father owned a restaurant that Maguire often visited, remembered the "big guy" fondly.

"Being 15 years older than he was, I remember Jack well, always with a smile on his face, and red santa cheeks," said DiTucci. "What he did for us as a servant of the city of Woburn was a remarkable feat that makes us all proud to have a man like Jack protecting us."

While many will remember Maguire as the son of former Police Chief Thomas Maguire and as a 34-year veteran of the police force, Maguire was also a well-educated family man.

Maguire and his wife, Desiree, were married for 23 years and had moved to Wilmington 17 years ago. The father of three adult children—Bryan, Sean and Tara, Maguire spent as much time as he could with family.

But between work and family, Maguire read constantly and was always trying to learn new things.

A 1969 graduate of Austin Prep, Maguire's first collegiate degree came from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell in 1973. Twenty-five years later, he earned a master's degree in business administration from Franklin Pierce College and a second master's in science and criminal justice administration from Western New England College in 1999. That same year, he also earned a doctorate in philosophy from the American College of Metaphysical Theology.

In addition to his two master's degrees and a doctorate, Maguire taught himself new things, like playing musical instruments and cooking.

All the while, he was laid-back, recalled Police Chief Philip Mahoney.

"Sometimes I would say, 'Jack, are you paying attention?'" recalled the chief. "But he always got it."

Mayor Scott Galvin remembered Maguire as a man who was proud to follow in his father's footsteps as a member of the Woburn Police Department.

"He was proud to be a member of the force, and was particularly proud of carrying on the family tradition of police service started by his father," said Galvin.