Asked what Lenny O’Keefe means to Bishop Brady High School, athletic director Annie Mattarazzo didn’t know where to begin.

“He is just a gift,” she said. “Lenny is an incredible soul. He is such a big-hearted, just such a well-rounded human being, such a good communicator, just a people person, too. Very respectful of everyone’s story. He just has such an innate ability to connect to so many people.”

It’s hard to disagree with that assessment. One would be hard-pressed to have even just a 10-minute phone call with O’Keefe and not come away from it in a better mood.

He retired from his job at the Merrimack County jail and now works part-time in the Concord Police Department’s community service unit with his comfort dog, Liberty. But when he’s not taking Liberty around town, there’s a good chance he’s behind the wheel of a Bishop Brady school bus.

Two years ago, Mattarazzo was scrambling. A bus driver shortage made transporting student-athletes to and from games remarkably challenging. But a seemingly insignificant plea turned into a partnership that’s worked out better than Mattarazzo could’ve ever imagined.

O’Keefe had never before driven a bus, but with more free time now, he decided to pursue getting his bus driver’s license. He started driving one of the school’s small buses during the 2022-23 school year and by the end of the year was able to drive the regular-sized bus.

But O’Keefe has become more than just a bus driver to Mattarazzo and the student-athletes.

“I think in high school athletics, sometimes kids have to do so much, and their commitments are so big, especially at our school with their high-level academics,” Mattarazzo said. “So it’s been really awesome because Lenny has just been such a listening ear for them, and the kids really appreciate just throwing things by, but they also talk about pro sports, and they talk about all these other things with him, which is great on the bus.”

O’Keefe is also ever-present on the sidelines of games. He keeps the scorebook for the girls’ basketball team and loves watching lacrosse games.

His son, Tyler, is also the men’s lacrosse coach at MIT and played at Springfield College, so O’Keefe can speak from experience with Bishop Brady parents about having a kid who played college sports, all that it entailed and perhaps provide them some guidance about the process.

More than just a friendly face for Bishop Brady families, he’s become fully embedded in the school.

“My favorite part is that I found this wonderful little community up there, this Bishop Brady school,” he said. “It’s gone from just driving the bus now to where I’ll go down and watch all the games; I keep the book for the girls’ basketball games and stuff like that, so it’s just this wonderful little community up there. Being part of that family up there is the best part.”

Bishop Brady, meanwhile, is more than happy to welcome O’Keefe with open arms.

“He’s just a special heart with a neat perspective on appreciating life and the people around him,” Mattarazzo said. “Our community is so blessed to have him in the multiple roles that he’s stepped into. A lot of times he’ll even tell me: ‘I just love being at Brady because everyone’s just smiling.’ That just tells you a lot about Lenny and just his appreciation for his day-to-day. I just love him for that.”