By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – In 1960, when Regina Cahill accepted a position of clerk in the Marlborough tax collector's office she did not expect to continue in City Hall until 2013 – almost 53 years later.?After three years in her original post, she moved across the hall to the?Assessor's Office and remained there until May when she retired.
“I started as a junior clerk, and then continued to senior clerk, principal clerk to the head clerk position where I stayed until I decided to leave,” she said. “I loved my job and especially the people. I will miss everyone.”
Her most recent supervisors were the late Chief Assessor Tony Trodella and Assistant Assessor Dan Brogie, who left this year to assume a post as chief assessor in Northborough.
Present Chair of the Board of Assessors Tony Arruda, who has worked with Cahill for many years, said he will miss her.
“When I first?joined the Assessing Department as a part-time assessor and member of the Board of Assessors in 1982, Regina was always the first person I turned to for help in understanding some of the?rules and regulations?you encounter in assessing property,” said Arruda. “She was and is an institution; one of a kind. She always had a cheery disposition and was wonderful in her interaction with taxpayers.”
“You know, no one likes to pay taxes– some people more than most – and every once in a while a disgruntled person would come in and demand to know why their taxes were so high. I never saw her get ruffled. She always patiently listened and eventually gave the answers he or she was looking for,” he added.
Cahill holds the singular distinction as being the longest serving city of Marlborough employee, a title held previously by former Librarian Eleanor Jones.
Mayor Arthur Vigeant praised Cahill ?at a farewell reception held?in her honor recently.
“For the past 52 years, Regina Cahill has truly been an exemplary employee who always greeted our customers with a smile. Her track record speaks for itself and she is deserving of every accolade she has received for her years of hard work and service. Her professionalism and kindness will be sorely missed,” Vigeant said.
Another honor bestowed upon the former Regina Cormier, who will turn 90 this year, was to be named Grand Marshal of the city's?59th annual Labor Day Parade in 2010, the year the 350th anniversary of Marlborough was observed. She was honored by then-Mayor Nancy Stevens,?who commended Cahill for her “dedication to the community, commitment to her work, as well as her gentle and caring nature.”
Married to the late Daniel Cahill, she has two daughters, Mary Ann Gullotti, who resides in Florida, and Lisa Cahill Green of Sutton; and two grandchildren, Tiffany Caputo and Alex Green.
“I plan to spend time traveling to visit my family in Florida and enjoy the ones who live close to me,” Cahill said.
She plans to stay active with the Avidia Bank Senior Travel Club and continue to attend Mass at Immaculate Conception church daily.
“I may be old in years but I am young at heart,” she said proudly, emphasizing her plans to take yoga classes and join the Walking Club at the Marlborough Senior Center.