New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Former city corporation counsel, judge, dies
Baldwin ‘lived a life of community service’
NEW HAVEN — Retired Judge Thayer “Ted” Baldwin Jr., one of the founders of the Long Wharf Theatre and a former corporation counsel for the city, died from “complications related to COVID-19,” according to his obituary.
Baldwin was 80.
Baldwin served as corporation counsel during parts of the administrations of former New Haven mayors Frank Logue from 1976-79 and John DeStefano Jr. from 1994-2013.
“I am saddened to hear that former corporation counsel, the Honorable Judge Thayer Baldwin Jr., has passed away,” Mayor Justin Elicker said Sunday.
“He lived a life of community service that will have an impact on New Haven for years to come,” Elicker said. “I send my deepest condolences to the Baldwin family.”
DeStefano, who served in
the city’s top seat for 20 years, noted Sunday what while “politics can be an adversarial sport at times,” Thayer “did not embrace that.”
Instead, the former mayor said, Baldwin’s goal was “working together, not holding grudges,” DeStefano said. “Not forgetting, but not holding grudges and really seeing the worth in collaborations.”
“His relationship to me was, I always felt, a teacher
and counselor, and his sense of the past and not believing in payback, and his sense of being centered in your values, your ethics and your family,” DeStefano said.
Baldwin served as health commissioner for the state of Connecticut before being appointed a Superior Court Judge in 2001, his obituary notes. He died Dec. 9.
“As a judge, he gave fair hearing to the issues of economic injustice, institutional racism, and oppression,” according to his obituary. “He focused much of his efforts on gun violence, fair housing laws, and juvenile justice reform.”
Born in Waterbury on Nov. 20, 1940, Baldwin grew up in Watertown and Hull, Mass., and attended The
Taft School, Yale University and Georgetown Law School.
“His dedication to others started in law school doing pro bono work during the civil rights movement,” according to his obituary.
“In private practice he fought for housing rights for people with disabilities. He was tireless in his work with state and local governments.”
He was among the founders and the initial executive director of Long Wharf Theatre, his obituary notes.
He was predeceased by his parents, Thayer and Hilda Baldwin; his brother Seth, his wife Barbara Geller and his former wife Judith Baldwin, the obituary notes. He is survived by many family members.
A memorial service will be scheduled after COVID restrictions have passed and the family suggested donations to an organization people believe honors his legacy, the obituary notes.
The Iovanne Funeral Home, Inc. is in care of his arrangements. The guest book online is at www.iovanne.com.