For those of us of a certain age, we are used to saying farewell to those that came before us. Particularly, our parents’ generation, the WWII greatest generation, as named by Tom Brokaw a while back in his best-selling book.

Now as time passes, we are saying goodbye to members of our own generation, the Boomers. So named years ago as the Baby Boom Generation, begat by the WWII fathers and mothers who, after the war ended, started living in earnest.

Thoughts of mortality do not come easily to Baby Boomers. We have been depicted in popular culture as living for the moment, and our anthem at one time was, “Hope I die before I get old.”

Well, we are old now.

This preface is by way of setting the tone for the purpose of this essay, which is to say farewell to two notable men who left us earlier this year, Richard Purol and John H. Walker, II.

Both are members of the Boomer Generation, my generation.

I was fortunate to know them both reasonably well in their public capacity. And that is the object of this tribute, civic public service.

Both men are of the northern Chautauqua community; one in the Town of Sheridan, the other in the Town of Dunkirk.

Both men grew up here, came of age, and went to work in this community. Both men married and raised a family in their respective Towns. Both men are survived by their wives and children. To them, we offer our sincere condolences on their loss.

But the loss is not just a private one. It is shared by all of us who participate in the civic life of this area.

As is well known, both were long-serving Town Supervisors of their respective towns at the time of their passing. I had the privilege of knowing both; as Town Attorney in Sheridan, since the days of Wayne Luce, and in Dunkirk, since my retired partner, Albert Foley, left years ago.

My relationship with John Walker goes back to Fredonia Little League days when our boys played. And of course, there was the farm stand on East Main Street for cherries and corn.

During my time in Dunkirk, I came to learn of Dick Purol’s devotion and service to the East Town Fire Department. A labor of love he continued right to the end.

While in office, each man had goals and ideas about what the Town should do regarding problems, and how the Town should be governed.

Much time in office for any Supervisor or Town Board Member is spent on normal, regular matters that arise year after year; Town budget, roads, snow removal, and the like.

But these two also had a vision concerning water. Specifically, expanding areas served by public water so more residences could have reliable supply, and businesses that required water could locate in town.

Along with leaders from Pomfret, Portland, and Brocton, they spearheaded the creation and oversaw the operation of the North Chautauqua County Water District.

Under the County umbrella, the effort was made to modernize, improve existing facilities, and expand water mains to areas in our communities that needed water service.

Two aspects of this effort are noteworthy.

One, it could only be accomplished if the several municipalities were willing to collaborate and share across municipal boundary lines, working together under the County umbrella as a multi-town water district.

Two, none of those town leaders were interested in empire building, the municipalities would share equipment and man-power.

Collaboration and inter-municipal sharing did not come easily; and still is not the default mode of proceeding in Northern Chautauqua County.

Along with other leaders, these two men realized that each constituent municipality was too small, not enough population, not enough money to go it alone. If this effort were to succeed, it had to be across municipal lines as a shared inter-municipal effort.

The district is not yet a finished product, the effort continues. Water mains, tanks, and pumps are still in the works.

It has been my observation over the years of municipal legal work, that in many respects holding office is a thankless task. Town Supervisor and Town Board Members are all very part-time. The pay is minor, and the hours are not great, as constituents feel free to call at any time of day or night about anything at all on their mind, even if the Town has no jurisdiction in the matter.

Baby Boomers have also been characterized as the “me” generation. But both Dick Purol and John Walker had a lot of the WWII generation in them.

It used to be that civic involvement and public service was done for community minded reasons, by community minded persons, and I tell you that is still the case at the local level, for the most part.

Certainly, that is true of John Walker and Dick Purol. They sought office only for the purpose of civic betterment, and their public service was just that, a service to be rendered without qualms, as a responsibility to be taken up by those who are able, to better their community.

They will be missed, and the community will need to identify others with the same vision of public service as Dick Purol and John Walker, to rise up and lead.

Jeffrey G. Passafaro is an attorney for a number of towns, including Dunkirk and Sheridan.