Stafford Mourning Loss Of Revered Citizen, Gordon Frassinelli Sr.

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“Dad taught us how to tie a necktie, fish, chop wood, do what is right all of the time, never ask for anything in return and be polite to everyone all of the time even if they did not necessarily deserve it,” he said. “He was an important man, he had juice, everyone knew him and respected him.”

Following his graduation from Stafford High School in 1954, Frassinelli attended the University of Connecticut, a move that began his life-long love affair with UConn. While there, he was the president of the Newman Catholic Society and played the French horn and served as president of the UConn Marching Band.

He was also a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps and was recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the program. Following his graduation in 1958, Frassinelli was commissioned as a lieutenant and served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1961.

Frassinelli worked for the state of Connecticut from 1961 to 1992, starting as a trainee and eventually becoming the state’s executive budget officer in the Governor’s Office of Policy and Management. At one point in his career, following some fatal crashes because of a lack of guardrails on the Merritt Parkway, he drove the entire length of the parkway to count the number of miles that needed guardrails, and subsequently ensured that the funding was in the budget to support the construction of new barriers.

He was also proud of his work with the local Democratic Party.

As a citizen, Frassinelli was heavily involved in athletics and served on governing boards and commissions in support of youth athletics. In the Spring of 1977 he delivered an emotional speech to the Board of Education on behalf of 200 upset sports parents in an effort to reinstate funding for spring sports that had been cut at a previous meeting.

He also helped lead the effort to reinstate football at Stafford High School in 1980 after more than a 30-year absence.

“I was deeply saddened to hear of Gordon Frassinelli’s passing. Gordon and his family have been great advocates and supporters of our beautiful town,” Stafford First Selectman William “Bill” Morrison said. “He will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. Personally, I will miss seeing him at his daughter’s softball games, cheering her on.”

Damian Frassinelli Thursday shared with Patch a heartfelt tribute to his dad:

“Dad taught us how to tie a necktie, fish, chop wood, do what is right all of the time, never ask for anything in return and be polite to everyone all of the time, even if they did not necessarily deserve it. Take the High Road, be better than that, etcetera, etcetera.

“We delivered the newspaper and on Sundays he would drive us in the family station wagon, mostly because, back then, the papers were so heavy with many pages and coupons and fliers. He taught us to be smart with the money we earned and to be good to the people we delivered to.

“Dad taught us what it means to show manners, good sportsmanship, etiquette, like when to take off your sports jacket at a formal function, which turned out to be never.

“He Sang in the church choir, was a soloist for weddings and funerals, mowed the lawn at church, often without being asked. He would weed whack or mow a property that simply looked bad and he looked out for the people in town in case things should look unsightly, like on the corner of Route 32 and 190. Years ago, it went out of business and the grass grew long and the weeds took over and one day he was over there, cleaning it up with his tools and push mower in the back of his truck.

“He would straighten it up and move on.

“When he worked for the state as the head of the Finance Office, he met with whoever the governor was at the time as his job was to work on the budget.

“He was an important man. He had juice.

“Everyone knew him and respected him. He could call just about anyone in authority, locally and at the state level, and make any request, but never did — NEVER. It would not have been the right thing to do, so he never did.

“He worked at raising money for student-athletes, for the church and for people less-fortunate, always. He loved to laugh. He absolutely loved when our mom laughed.

“I remember when I was in my late 20s, staying there for a bit with a broken leg, and me a Dad were watching some baseball game and Mom was in the other room with some of my siblings and she was laughing loudly and he said with such joy, ‘listen, listen to her laugh isn’t that the most beautiful thing.’

“He supported us all at everything we did, along with mom of course, every game, practice, shows, boy scouts, plays, etcetera, always.

“He never ran for office although his dad and a few sons did. He did not want that for himself — too much attention, too much nonsense he would say.

“I honestly never heard one person say a bad thing about my dad, which is so amazing.”

Calling hours are scheduled for Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Introvigne Funeral Home, 51 East Main St., Stafford. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Edward Church, 55 High St., Stafford. Military honors will take place at the conclusion of the Mass at St. Edward Church.

See the full obituary from the Introvigne Funeral Home here.

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