The Holyoke School Committee remembers former member William Collamore during their Sept. 28 meeting.
Photo credit: Holyoke Media
HOLYOKE — The Holyoke School Committee remembered its longest serving School Committee member, William Collamore, who passed away at 92 years old on Sept. 19.
Collamore stepped down from the School Committee on Dec. 31, 2025 after serving Ward 6 for 49 years. He was the longest-serving School Committee member in the history of Massachusetts at the time.
He was a lifelong Holyoker and was a graduate of Holyoke High School. Collamore served for two years in the U.S. Army, was a retired firefighter and served on many civic boards during his career.
After being first elected to the School Committee in 1976, Holyoke Public Schools said his motivation for serving was rooted in his family’s strong belief in public service, and a personal commitment to serving the youth of his community.
During his time on the School Committee, served on several subcommittees and in numerous leadership positions throughout the years, including as vice chair. He was a member of the School Committee for multiple school building projects, including the construction of HHS Dean, the remodel and expansion of HHS North and the new Peck Middle School, a project he championed for many years before its construction.
Collamore was also a founding member of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in the 1970s and of the Holyoke Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.
“From the earliest days of the International Volleyball Hall of Fame, he was there helping build and preserve an institution that has brought international recognition to our city,” Mayor Joshua Garcia said in a statement.
In May, the city of Holyoke honored Collamore with a street-naming ceremony in recognition of his decades of devoted service. The street dedicated in his honor can be found near Holyoke High School.
Superintendent Jackie Glasheen talked about Collamore’s impact during the Sept. 28 School Committee meeting.
“There has not been a moment in my time in the Holyoke Public Schools, even when I was a student, that I don’t remember Mr. Collamore,” Glasheen said. “When I played high school soccer, he was on the field and told me how I played that day. When I was a teacher at Lynch, he would come the first week of school and he would rub his fingers across my window stills to make sure that the custodian staff cleaned my room and it was ready for students.”
She said that Collamore also offered kind words to her as an administrator and attended every single Holyoke High School basketball game to show his support for school sports.
“I don’t think there is many others in our community that have the love and the respect and the dedication to Holyoke that Mr. Collamore did,” Glasheen stated. “I thank him for his service, I thank him for his love for this community and he serves as role model to all of us on how to serve.”
School Committee member Devin Sheehan talked about Collamore’s legacy and said he was a friend to committee members and pretty much anyone he worked with.
“He always had a smile on his face but more importantly, the legacy that he had built for good school board service in support of Holyoke across our commonwealth,” Sheehan said. “He attended almost every conference he could up until travel got a little bit harder over time but also saw it important to usher in a new group of people to attend and get involved.”
Sheehan credited his role as the National School Board president to Collamore’s support.
Garcia said in a statement that Collamore’s commitment to Holyoke was extraordinary.
“For 49 years, he represented Ward 6 on the School Committee, and before that and throughout his life, he served our community as a firefighter, a civic leader and a champion for our young people,” Garcia stated. “On behalf of the City of Holyoke, I extend my deepest condolences to Ronnie’s family, friends, fellow firefighters, colleagues and the many people whose lives he touched. We are grateful for his service and his legacy will remain a part of Holyoke for generations to come.”
