Early Life, Education, and Career
John F. Tierney was born September 18, 1951, in Salem, Massachusetts. His mother, Doris H. (née Gelineau) Tierney, was a Salem native who worked a split shift at the New England Telephone Company, where she remained for 42 years. His father, Albert R. Tierney, was a bookkeeper for Nabisco and a local fuel company. Tierney was one of three children, along with his brother Michael A. and sister Catherine. His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of half French-Canadian and half Irish ancestry. He moved with his family to his grandmother's home when he was five years old. He began working at the Kernwood Country Club in Salem as a caddy when he was 8 and soon adopted a paper route. He later attended Salem High School. When he was young, Tierney campaigned for his uncle, a Peabody ward councilor, and he ascribes his political interest in part to this experience.
Tierney attended Salem State College, majoring in political science. While in college he performed work study, while also stocking shelves at a grocery store, working in sales at a clothing store, and performing deliveries. For three years he was president of his class, and his final year he served as president of the Salem State Student Government Association (SGA). As SGA president he responded to racial incidents on campus by organizing a school-wide meeting leading to several days of discussion. He graduated in 1973, and returned in 2009 to give a commencement address, receiving an honorary degree.
While working as a law office clerk and a State House janitor, Tierney attended Suffolk University Law School. He graduated with a J.D. in 1976, and was admitted to the Massachusetts bar. He worked as a solo practitioner until 1981, when he became a partner at the North Shore community law firm Tierney, Kalis, & Lucas. He remained at the firm until taking office in 1997. Tierney served on the Salem Chamber of Commerce from 1976 to 1997, becoming the organization's president in 1995.
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