D’Amico leaves lasting legacy

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 By Andreas Yilma, Staff Writer

The funeral procession for former Beacon Falls First Selectman Leonard D’Amico passes Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 May 6. D’Amico was the longest serving first selectman in town history, serving from 1977 to 1995. – JIM SHANNON/REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

BEACON FALLS — Former First Selectman Leonard F. D’Amico leaves a legacy of family and leadership.

D’Amico died April 30 at the age of 87.

He was born and raised in Waterbury, moved to Beacon Falls in 1962 and soon after began his political career.

D’Amico served on the Beacon Falls Board of Education from 1963 to 1969 — before the town joined with Prospect to form Region 16 — including two years as chairman.

He joined the Beacon Falls Republican Town Committee in 1965 and was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 1973. In 1977, he earned his inaugural term as first selectman — a position he would hold until 1995. D’Amico is the longest serving first selectman in town history.

“He loved the town and wanted the best for it,” said Debbie Hogestyn, D’Amico’s daughter and one of his three children. “He truly was a public servant.”

D’Amico served the public in many ways. After 18 years as first selectman, he worked as an undersecretary at the state Office of Policy and Management before retiring in 2000.

D’Amico was a U.S. Navy veteran and served during the Korean War. He was active in Masonic groups, including as an honorary member of the Supreme Council A. A. S. R. – Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, which is the highest honor in Masonry. He also served on the advisory board of Mattatuck Community College in 1969, was a member of the Beacon Falls Congregational Church, and an honorary member of Beacon Hose Co. No. 1.

Then-Beacon Falls First Selectman Leonard F. D’Amico, right, swears in then-Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 Fire Chief Tom Pratt in 1986. -CONTRIBUTED

Selectman Michael Krenesky, who is the chairman of the Republican Town Committee, said D’Amico convinced him to fill a vacancy on the school board in 1984. He’s been involved with town government and politics ever since.

“Len knew how to get you to contribute to public service,” Krenesky said. “He was a great public service person himself.”

Krenesky wasn’t the only person D’Amico influenced.

Before First Selectman Gerard Smith got involved in politics, he spoke at a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing in the 1990s. Smith recalled D’Amico told him at the hearing, “We could use people like you in politics.”

About a month later, Smith was on the commission. Smith is in his second term as first selectman. During his first term from 2011 to 2013, Smith ran and served with D’Amico’s son, David.

“He (D’Amico) definitely was a strong leader that had strong opinions. He was a hands-on leader. He was fiscally conservative. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with,” Smith said. “He was also very good at understanding what the community needed, providing it and fulfilling those needs.”

D’Amico was known as a great leader and a father figure.

Krenesky, who called D’Amico his second father, said he had a great vision of Beacon Falls and how to keep the town moving forward.

“He commanded respect from a lot of people inside and outside of the town,” Krenesky said. “He knew how to be that gentle giant and knew when to throw down the hammer.”

Town Clerk Leonard Greene, a former state representative who served under D’Amico as a selectman and town treasurer, said he looked up to D’Amico.

A group of Masons pay their respects as the funeral procession for former Beacon Falls First Selectman Leonard D’Amico passes Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 May 6. -JIM SHANNON/REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

“He was tremendous with managing money for the town. He guided me for sure in my political career. He helped me to be state representative,” Greene said. “He was not only a second father but he was like a friend. He always had a joke for you. He was a great man.”

Prospect Mayor Robert Chatfield was elected the same year D’Amico became first selectman. Chatfield said they became very good friends, and the two political leaders would meet once a week at the former Prospect Dairy Bar to talk.

“He was nice to everybody. He had a beautiful smile. He worked tirelessly for the town of Beacon Falls and for Region 16,” Chatfield said. “Our friendship brought the region to where it is, together.”

Hogestyn said her father would drive around town and if he found something that needed work, he would immediately call someone to take care of it. She said he believed elected officials are public servants and their job is to do what’s best for the people and not themselves.

“He truly loved the town and the people in it,” Hogestyn said.