Singing the Song

Paul and Margaret Chisholm

Who sings the song of Catholic education today? Who writes the words and fashions the tune? There’s a whole diverse chorus, no doubt, comprised of students who achieve beyond expectation, teachers who inspire lovingly, parents who sacrifice heroically and friends who support generously. Paul and Margaret Chisholm are no strangers to any of these roles. First hearing the tune from parents who valued Catholic education, they each came of age in the 1960s, a time understood by many as “The Catholic Moment” in America. A young, vibrant Irish-Catholic from Massachusetts was president; religious teaching congregations of Sisters and Brothers were at their all-time membership height; and Catholic elementary and secondary schools reached enrollment peaks not equaled since.

Those Catholic schools had evolved from stepping stones for largely Irish, German, and Italian-immigrant cultural assimilation to launching pads for leadership, economic success, and prosperity -- all while offering a moral core centered in Gospel values. Catholic schools were quite a gift for those who could afford them! And many could, thanks to parish support and to a workforce comprised chiefly of nuns, priests, and brothers. Nonetheless, a $150 annual tuition could be a financial stretch for some! Back in that day, a community of 32 Xaverian Brothers once called 99 Crystal Street home. Along with dedicated lay men and women who helped staff the school, they “sang the song” for Malden Catholic from 1968 through the ‘70s. Their one-time 2nd-floor bedrooms are now MC admissions, development and business offices. Their dining room, community room, and chapel, which had doubled as a worship space for the school, were ultimately part of the demolition and renovations that heralded expansion and the 2018 arrival of a Girls Division. For the past five years a small, converted office has served as a temporary chapel, meeting the basic liturgical needs of the school. That’s about to change!

The melody of Catholic education has been something of the musical score to the Chisholm’s lives. Margie, growing up in Somerville with two sisters and two brothers, enjoyed the educational benefits of Matignon High School and Emmanuel College. She and three siblings attended Saint Catherine School in Somerville. Her brother Tony then went to BC High, and Mary Catherine and Judy, joined Margie at Matignon. Judy’s boys JP and Tim Walsh attended MC. Paul and his brother Richie, growing up in Roslindale, attended Sacred Heart School; then Paul took advantage of the offerings at Catholic Memorial High School and, later, Boston College. Paul’s brother, Richie, would become longtime Principal at Catholic Memorial.

Margie recalls, “Paul and I first met at a mutual friend’s party during our senior year and later reconnected when we were both working part time at Jordan Marsh (long-departed Boston department store... swallowed up by Macy’s).” Right after their college graduation, they both relocated to North Carolina for graduate school, Paul at Wake Forest for a brand-new MBA program and Margie at UNC Chapel Hill, to pursue a degree in library science. Paul was looking for more rigor in his program, so they both decided to move back to Boston where Margie worked at New England Telephone/AT&T as a service representative, and Paul took a position also at New England Telephone/AT&T as a telecom/data consultant. They married in 1972. Margie laughs, “We were SO young!” Paul completed his MBA at Babson, and Margie earned her Master’s degree at Lesley College while raising her family.

They lived for four years in Somerville, then moved to West Medford in 1976 soon after their first son Jamie was born. Sons Robby and Brendan followed! Jamie is now Senior Director of Corporate Affairs at Draft Kings, Robby is the Principal of the Condon School in South Boston, and Brendan is the Chief of Staff for the Chancellor at UMass Chan Medical School. The family worshipped at St. Raphael Parish, where the boys also attended school, before Robby (MC’95) and Brendan (MC’99) made their way to Malden Catholic. The boys had a great run at MC. Paul and Margie have many happy memories of special MC teachers and student friends of the boys, but in recalling those stories, they are always cautious not to go too far into detail, as they often end with someone landing himself in “detention”! The theme, though, is something like “West Medford meets Charlestown, the North End, Revere, and the rest of the world” in that interesting, diverse mix of backgrounds and personalities that has always been the hallmark of an MC Man. Paul admits that he could easily have declared several of his son’s MC friends as “dependents” on his income tax because they were always at his home. Margie’s professional interests and expression of ministry found fertile ground at St. Raphael School, where in 1987 she began service as a librarian and later enjoyed other roles as campus minister and Director of Mission and Identity. She still stays connected with St. Ray’s in advisory and volunteer capacities. Among those

she credits with the caring influences that helped shape her worldview, Margie notes, first, her parents as teachers of kindness and compassion; then, she finds inspiration in the joyful witness to Jesus’ love that she finds in the Medical Missionaries of Mary, a religious community whom she supports and serves.

Paul’s career initiative and talents have taken him to the top of the telecom world. From 1992 to 2001, he was president and CEO of COLT Telecom Group, headquartered in London, England. While there he was ranked the 26th-best-performing CEO in the world by The Harvard Business Review. He then continued to make his mark as an industry giant as Chairman and CEO of mindSHIFT Technologies. While under his leadership, mindSHIFT, one of the largest IT outsourcing and cloud services providers for small and medium-sized businesses, was recognized as the number one MSP in the United States for four consecutive years.

Paul has been a member of the Executive Council of the distinguished Catholic Schools Foundation, which does so much to support Catholic education in the Boston Archdiocese; a Trustee Emeritus of Babson College, a Board member for several technology companies, and is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors for Cathedral High School in Boston’s South End. Paul has even demonstrated the facility and skills to step briefly into the operational role at Cathedral, serving as Head of School during a recent change in school leadership.

Many people and organizations deeply appreciate Paul and Margaret for their achievements, service and philanthropy. Paul was presented the “Vince in Bono Malum Award” for Professional Achievement from Catholic Memorial High School. In 2014, Margaret and Paul were the honored recipients of the “Dear Neighbor Award” presented at the first annual “Living the Dream” Dinner celebrating 140 years of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. Malden Catholic also honored Margaret and Paul with a Lifetime Achievement Award at our 2016 Gala.

In her remarks that night, Margie explained her loyalty to Malden Catholic in terms of a mother’s debt of gratitude, “I am thankful for Malden Catholic’s having provided our sons with an environment that nurtured our most cherished values and with teachers who cared as much about their moral development as their intellectual growth. Their teachers effectively modeled our ideals in ways that resonated with our boys during those interesting adolescent years when my attempts to influence them often met with resistance.” She added, “Another reason for gratitude is that although MC emphasized high academic and behavioral standards, it had an expansive and inclusive philosophy. Boys from all sorts of backgrounds and levels of academic ability were welcomed, and they were offered the help needed to be successful in high school and beyond.” Paul would concur, saying, “Malden Catholic provides an important alternative educational experience – one that emphasizes academic mastery, of course, while also being values based, Gospelcentered, and grounded in community. It stresses the importance of both the common good and individual accomplishment. To achieve this balance, the school must have the resources to maintain high standards of scholarship while nurturing an environment in which personal best and regard for others are equally significant.”

Paul and Margie have gone above and beyond in assisting with those needed resources. Their years of kind generosity to Malden Catholic, including their role as major donors in our 2015 The Essential Campaign, have helped us to continue to sing the song of Catholic education vibrantly. What’s more, though, through their extraordinary goodness, Malden Catholic will once again have a fully functioning Chapel right along the main thoroughfare of our building where it should be! We are delighted, thankful, and excited that by this March the Brother Thomas Puccio, CFX Chapel, named in honor of longtime MC administrator Brother Puccio, will offer students, faculty and staff alike a sacred space for reflection, prayer and praise.

Those who have received Christmas cards and Easter updates from Margaret and Paul in recent years have enjoyed the accompanying family photo-scenes of a broadly smiling Paul and Margie surrounded by their children and nine grandchildren. The beat goes on!

One wonders, will Catholic schools be in their futures? Paul and Margaret have done more than their part in boosting the sustainability of Catholic schools.

We thank Paul and Margie for a lifetime of singing the song of Catholic education, for having included Malden Catholic as one of the verses in their tune, and for having extended their family love both to us and to the greater Catholic family of the Boston area. Through their generosity, generations to come may enjoy excellence in academics and experience the imprint of Gospel values at schools like MC that inspire lifelong learning, faith, and service! We are deeply grateful to them!