Remembering Daniel O’Toole

This week I attended the funeral service for retired Boston Police Detective Daniel O’Toole, who died on June 12 at age 95. 

Daniel O’Toole. Source: Provided.

I first met Dan in the seventies, when Boston was undergoing court-ordered desegregation of the Boston Public Schools. This was a highly contentious time, and Boston cops were tasked with protecting children on buses. Dan was a motorcycle cop, and with his partners, he escorted schoolchildren on buses into new neighborhoods every morning. Rocks and bottles flew, and wires were strung across streets. Dan couldn’t get his head around why anyone would want to hurt children.

He looked on this part of his career with a sense of duty and pride.

As time went on, Dan met another Boston Police officer named Kathy O’Toole, and they married and had a daughter, Meghan.

Dan and Kathy’s lives complemented each other. Dan loved being a motorcycle cop and became one of the most respected and well-known members of the department. Kathy’s path led her to become police chief in Boston and Seattle and chief inspector of the Garda Síochána in Ireland. Along the way, she obtained both a law degree and a PhD.

Kathy has always referred to Dan as her “secret weapon.” As Kathy took on each new job and was viewed with some degree of deference by her subordinates and the public, Dan had a way of putting everyone at ease. In Ireland, as Kathy would be speaking, Dan would be in the back of the room, surrounded by new friends who were mesmerized by his humor and storytelling. And it was this way in every city that they called home. They were a team, and with a young daughter, Meaghan, Dan stepped up and took on new responsibilities. To know Dan was to love him. He was one of the kindest, funniest, and most joyful people you would ever meet.

Meghan, speaking at the funeral, talked about how her dad showed her what generosity meant as his career was winding down and he focused more on supporting Kathy. Dan used to say that life is full of chapters, you just have to turn the pages.

Best,

Chuck