William McCabe, 72; led public safety for state, college

Collier said her father loved to talk to luminaries he helped protect, but it was all in a day’s work. After all, he had two daughters to put through parochial school.

“He did details to pay for school,’’ Collier said. “We were very proud. We still are.’’

Mr. McCabe died Wednesday at Massachusetts General Hospital of complications following a recent fall. He was 72.

Born in Winthrop, Mr. McCabe was a lifelong resident of Charlestown. He graduated from St. John the Evangelist High School in Cambridge and joined the State Police in 1960. He received a bachelor’s degree from Northeastern University in 1979 and a master’s degree from Boston University in 1981.

Mr. McCabe served the State Police for 26 years, rising through the ranks to become a lieutenant colonel. He had been retired for only three weeks when he got the call from Governor Michael Dukakis to serve as the commissioner of public safety. He was appointed in 1987.

“Even though he was a commissioner, he was still very respected and well-liked by the uniformed officers,’’ Collier said.

In 1992, Mr. McCabe became the director of public safety at Emerson College. Collier said that although he expected his time at Emerson to be brief, he stayed there for 15 years.

“He built a relationship between the students and the public safety officers that was both respectful of city life and allowed our students to feel comfortable in relating to the city,’’ said Emerson president Jacqueline Liebergott. “He built a wonderful safety record for the college.’’

During his tenure at Emerson, Mr. McCabe liked to tour the school’s offices, showing off the prizes from his shopping trips to Filene’s Basement. At each stop, Mr. McCabe would collect candy from each of the bowls on the desks, sort of trick-or-treating among the administration.

Nadine Dowling, former vice president of administration at Emerson, said Mr. McCabe always thought of others.

“He was happiest when he was helping young people,’’ Dowling said. The walks around campus weren’t just for candy, but to see whether there was anybody he could help, Dowling said. “If you said to him, ‘I need to get to the airport and I don’t have a car,’ he’d offer to drive.’’

Liebergott and Emerson Police Chief George Noonan said Mr. McCabe was instrumental during Emerson’s expansion to Boston Common. He worked with Emerson’s neighbors downtown and in Chinatown.

“We just made sure that everything is agreeable,’’ Noonan said. “He was certainly my mentor.’’

“Bill blossomed at Emerson College,’’ Dowling said. “He got such a sense of self-fulfillment and reward dealing with our students. He had such pride when he saw them grow and develop.’’

Mr. McCabe is predeceased by his wife, Margaret. In addition to his daughter Maureen, he leaves another daughter, Lynda Stillman of Wilmington, and a sister, Patricia Batchelder of Saugus.

A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Francis de Sales Church in Charlestown. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden.