UPDATE: Post Office To Be Named for Officer Maguire

Nov. 23—Pres. Barack Obama has signed legislation that will re-name the post office on Washington Street the “Officer John Maguire Post Office Building.”

Nov. 14—Woburn Police will be honored permanently in the city, thanks to bi-partisan legislation on the federal level. 

Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Malden) announced Monday night that a bill proposing the name change passed in the U.S. House of Representatives Monday night. Markey and Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown wrote legislation to rename the after Officer Maguire, who was .

The legislation is in response to a request by Mayor Scott Galvin and then-Interim Chief Richard Kelley, who asked for the name change formally in a June 29 letter to politicians. 

If the legislation is passed, the post office at 462 Washington St. would be named the “Officer John Maguire Post Office Building.”

“No tribute can fully recognize the debt we owe to Officer Maguire for laying down his life to protect the public from a career criminal,” said Sen. Brown.  “Renaming this public building in his honor will serve to remind all who enter it of the tremendous sacrifice he made for us and the risks that all in law enforcement take every day.”

, a 34-year veteran of the Woburn police force, was fatally shot in the line of duty when he responded to a robbery at Kohls during a blizzard last year.

“A three-decade veteran of the police force, Officer Maguire died protecting nearby shoppers and employees from an armed criminal,” said Rep. Markey. “It is a tragedy for his family, the Woburn Police Department, and the entire community to have lost such a brave and honorable father, husband, and colleague. With the renaming of this post office in honor of Officer Maguire, we pay homage to the life and legacy of a true hometown hero.”

In a statement, Sen. Kerry added, "Jack Maguire gave his life for the people of this city and naming this post office in his honor is just one small way to say thank you for 34 years on duty and a sacrifice that knows no words. To his loving wife Desiree and to Bryan, Tara, Sean and the rest of the Maguire clan, we offer our enduring gratitude for a life dedicated to keeping others safe.”

In July, Mayor Galvin said, “Chief Kelley and I applaud the swift response of our U.S. legislative delegation to our June 29 formal request seeking the introduction of a Senate bill to name the U.S. Post Office at 462 Washington Street—just a few hundred yards across the street from where Woburn Police Officer Jack Maguire was shot and killed—in honor of Officer John “Jack” Maguire.”

“We are pleased to be working as a team with U.S. Senators Kerry and Brown, as well as U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, to ensure the passage of this important piece of legislation," he added.