April 7, 2003
 Joseph M. Tinsley died April 7, 2003 in the Mary McCarthy
Hospice Residence in Sandwich, Mass., at 87.
During his career, Mr. Tinsley had been active in local
politics, serving 10 terms as a member of the Worcester City
Council, until his retirement in 1987. He had been the mayor
of Worcester in 1971, 1973, 1984 and 1985, when he was also
chairman of the Worcester School Committee. An advocate for
education, public safety and public healthcare, Mr. Tinsley
supported the building of the Worcester Centrum and the energy
resource recovery plant in Millbury, Mass.
He had also been a sales executive for Brierly Lombard & Co.,
an industrial supply company in Worcester, for more than
20 years, retiring in 1990. Previously, Mr. Tinsley had been
employed many years by the Cristy Chemical Corp.; in the
1950s, he worked for the federal government, including the
U.S. Postal Service. An Army veteran of World War II, Mr.
Tinsley served as a lieutenant in North Africa, Italy, France,
Germany and England. Prior to the war, he taught at the St.
Vincent School for Boys in San Raphael, Calif.
Mr. Tinsley was the recipient of many awards for his political
and community service, including the Ecumenical Award of
the Worcester chapter of the National Conference of Christians
and Jews and the Shillelagh Award from the Emerald Club.
He was also honored by the Probus Club; the Educational Association
of Worcester; the Massachusetts Police Association; and the
Worcester Firefighters Union. Mr. Tinsley received an honorary
doctorate from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass.
A member of the Holy Cross Club of Worcester and the Alumni
Sodality of Our Lady, he had been a Holy Cross class agent.
Mr. Tinsley was a trustee at Worcester City Hospital and
the first president of the Lay Senate of the Diocese of Worcester.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; a son, David N. ’69;
three daughters, including Marjorie T. Ursoleo ’77;
a brother, Msgr. Edmond T. ’48; 23 grandchildren; two
great-grandsons; and many nephews and nieces.
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