ObituariesObituaries
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Lawrence D. Tedesco, Sr., 65
Lawrence D. Tedesco, Sr.: 32-year veteran of Westport Fire Department. Contributed photo
Lawrence D. Tedesco, Sr., a 32-year member of the Westport Fire Department before retiring in 1998 as an acting assistant chief, died Monday at Yale New Haven Hospital following a brief illness. He was 65.
Formerly of Westport, and husband of Wanda Gupton Tedesco, Tedesco was a resident of Bluffton, S.C.
Born in Norwalk, June 11, 1943, son of the late Donald J. and Margaret (McDermott) Tedesco, Tedesco had resided in Westport for 63 years prior to moving to Bluffton two years ago.
A former member of the Westport Volunteer Fire Department, he was appointed to the Westport Fire Department on July 1, 1966, promoted to the rank of lieutenant on July 1, 1980, and served as acting assistant chief before retiring May 1, 1998.
“As a firefighter and an officer, he was as solid as they come,” said Chief Christopher Ackley.
“In the fire service, one of the most meaningful comments about a firefighter is to say ‘he was a good firefighter.’ Larry was a good firefighter and officer.”
During his career, he received many letters and thanks of appreciation for his service to Westport residents.
He was honored, along with retired Firefighter Denis Duffy, with the Firefighter Dominic Zeoli Award, for performing “an extraordinary rescue under extremely life-threatening conditions” at a 1971 house fire on Center Street.
And he was among three firefighters honored with the Captain Edmund T. Duffy Unit Citation for “displaying outstanding teamwork while working together under extreme conditions” at the Dickson Building fire in Westport’s center in March 1982.
A 1962 graduate of Staples High School where Wanda was his sweetheart, Tedesco was an avid and accomplished golfer. He was a former member of the Longshore Men’s Golf Association and more recently a member of the Belfair Men’s Golf Association in Bluffton.
Survivors in addition to his wife of 44 years include two daughters, Jennifer Tedesco Alfano, a Westport schoolteacher, and her husband Peter of Westport, Leighann Walther and her husband Glenn of Cumming, Ga., and one son, Lawrence D. Tedesco, Jr., and his wife Beth of Cumming, Ga; one brother, John Tedesco of Westport, one sister, Mary Lincoln of East Hartford, seven grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Friends are invited to attend the funeral Friday at 10:15 a.m. from the Harding Funeral Home, 210 Post Road East, and 11 a.m. in Assumption Church, 98 Riverside Ave., for a Mass of Christian Burial.
The family will receive friends in the funeral home on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.
The Westport Fire Department will provide an honor guard detail for the events.
Memorial contributions may be made to Yale Cancer Center’s Smilow Hospital, 157 Church St., New Haven, CT 06510, or The Melanoma Research Foundation, 170 Township Line Road, Bldg. “B”, Hillsborough, NJ 0884
Larry Tedesco was not only a good member of the fire service but a good friend to all of those who knew him. Larry was a man of great character , a devoted family man and a guy with a good sense of humor . Not to mention the fact that he was a great golfer who loved to share his passion and insights to the game to those who loved golf as much he did.
It was my great privliege to know him as a friend.
Posted by john kondub on January 27, 2009 at 07:33 PM
What Would I Say…
What would I say TO my Dad if I could speak to him again? I would tell him that he can’t go. I would tell him that he still has so many things left to do here with me….with all of us. Too many experiences that he still didn’t get the chance to do. Too many rounds of golf yet to be played. Too many trips yet to be taken. Too many sunsets left to be watched. Too many memories still left to make with Mom, us kids….and his grandkids. Down to the beach or going to chip and putt, going gator hunting in the golf cart or ballet recitals…whatever they were into at the time. That he still needs to teach his grandkids the game of golf…the same way he taught his son and anyone else who asked what was wrong with their game. Let us not forget the “other girl” in his life....The most “human” dog I know, Maggie. He would take her here, there and everywhere. A true member of the family.
What would I say ABOUT my Dad? I would say that he is one of the most generous people I know. A person who would do anything…for anyone…and not want or expect anything in return. He was a man who adored his wife and loved his family more than anything in this world and that everything he did was to make their lives better or easier. He was a man that delighted in his grandkids as each of them--Morgan, Alex, Hannah, Jackson, Jake, Peter and in the days to come my new little girl, Abigail— Each one of them loved their Papa so much and are so much better for knowing him. Anyone who knew my Dad understood that family was the primary force behind his life. But so were his friends. If my Dad considered you a friend you knew it and you knew that you always had at least one person on your side no matter what the circumstance. From his old friends that he’d known his whole life to the new ones that he’d only come to know more recently, he knew how to make them all feel welcome, special and loved.
What would I say TO all of you gathered here to celebrate my Dad’s life? I would ask you to remember the happy times you spent with my Dad- You may know him in your own special way- Sr., L.T, Larry, Teddy, Dad, Grandpa, The Nose, Poppy, Pappa, Daddy. Remember the trips you took together or the celebrations you shared. Remember the last round of golf you played with him (especially if you won because he didn’t let that happen too often). Remember the smile, the laugh, the handshake and the hug. Remember the life given serving both his family and this community. Remember the love that he tried to share with everyone he considered a friend. But most of all, I would ask you to remember what it was about my Dad and our family, Mom, Jen, Lawrence and me that touched you enough to be here today and to keep that with you….always.
Love you daddy, Leighann Tedesco- Walther
( The Youngest of Larry’s 3 Children)
Posted by Leighann Tedesco-Walther on January 27, 2009 at 08:56 PM
This tribute from Larry’s younger daughter really brightened my day. To have this kind of love and admiration from family and friends really speaks of a “life well lived”. Thanks, Leighann, and our prayers are with your family.
Posted by Linda Smith on January 28, 2009 at 08:37 AM