Politics

‘A workhorse, not a show horse’: Former western Mass. U.S. Rep. John Olver dies at 86

Olver was known as a staunch progressive Democrat who passed many bills while avoiding the spotlight.

By Susannah Sudborough

February 27, 2023

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Former Massachusetts 1st Congressional District Rep. John Olver died in his Amherst home Thursday of last week at age 86.

Known for being a staunch progressive, Olver served in the Massachusetts Legislature and Congress for a total of 44 years. When he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1991, he became the first-ever Democrat to represent his district.

“‘A workhorse, not a show horse’ is what John W. Olver’s campaign called him, in a phrase that closely matched his unflashy but solidly productive political career,” his obituary reads.

According to his obituary, Olver was born in 1936 in Pennsylvania. After graduating high school at age 15, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He went on to earn a master’s degree in chemistry from Tufts University and a doctorate in chemistry from MIT.

Olver taught chemistry at UMass Amherst for eight years before resigning in 1969 to serve as a state representative, his obituary reads. Just three years later, he was elected to the state senate, flipping his seat from red to blue.

After U.S. Rep. Silvio Conte died in office in 1991, Olver won the 1st Congressional District seat through a special election. During his time in office, he served on the subcommittees for energy and water development; homeland security; and transportation, housing, and urban development.

According to Olver’s obituary, he was a strong supporter of universal healthcare, abortion rights, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and keeping our waters free from pollution. He often voted against military interventions and escalations and was a strong critic of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Olver was arrested in front of the Sudanese embassy while protesting the Darfur genocide twice while serving in Congress. Massachusetts 2nd Congressional Rep. James McGovern, who was arrested with Olver in 2006, called his colleague “a person of integrity who has shown that standing up for what you believe is not only the right thing to do, it’s good politics” in Olver’s obituary.

McGovern and other politicians have also highlighted Olver’s contributions to the state’s infrastructure, especially transportation. Olver was known for helping expand broadband service and community health centers in his district, and “always showed up” to community events in western Massachusetts.

“There’s probably not a transportation project in the state that doesn’t have John Olver’s fingerprints on it,” McGovern said in Olver’s obituary.

Olver retired from politics in 2013 and was succeeded by Rep. Richard Neal, who has represented the district ever since. After retiring from politics, Olver’s obituary says, he continued championing causes he cared about, such as land conservation.

Olver’s life outside politics was just as rich. According to his obituary, he was married to Rose Olver, a psychology professor and the first tenured female professor at Amherst College, for 55 years. A seasoned outdoorsman, he enjoyed hiking, rock climbing, gardening, and tennis.

Olver is survived by his daughters, Martha Olver and Cary Frye, his son, Douglas Plumer, his grandson, Marshall Plumer, and several nieces and nephews.