August 11, 1927 - October 11, 2022

Attorney Joseph Robert Greco, former Hamden

(CT) Town counsel, died peacefully in Stuart, FL on October 17, 2022.

Born on August 11, 1927 in New Haven, CT, he was the son of Joseph Ralph Greco and Carmela Anquillare Greco. He attended the Hamden public schools and graduated from Hamden High School with the class of 1945. Although only seventeen years old, he volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Navy and served as a Seaman aboard the

USS Mercer until the end of World War II. He then matriculated at the University of Miami where he met his future wife, Claire Gulotti. They were married in Coral Gables, FL on October 27, 1951. Claire survives him, along with their four children: Lisa Greco, Esq. of Palm City, FL, James J. Greco, Esq. of Delray Beach, FL, John J. Greco, MD of Huntsville, AL and Suellen Greco, DVM of St. Louis, MO.

The University of Miami awarded Attorney Greco a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with dual majors in Economics and Accounting in 1950. He received an L.L.B. degree from the University of Miami School of Law on June 10, 1953 at which time he was admitted to the Florida Bar. Thereafter he was associated with the law firm of Turner, Hendrick & Fascell in Coral Gables and continued to be actively engaged in the practice of law for sixty-six years until he finally retired on January 1, 2019.

Attorney Greco moved his small family to Hamden in 1954 for the purpose of founding his own law firm. He became a member of the Connecticut Bar and met and became associated with his mentor, Judge James P. Doherty. They formed the law firm of Doherty & Greco which was to become quite successful and well known. In 1957 he was retained by the Town of Hamden as Special Counsel to create a retirement plan for Town employees. The resulting plan was the first to provide incentives to the employees for continuing education that would improve their employment status. In

1958 he became the Town Prosecutor and in 1963 he was appointed to serve as a member of the Hamden Board of Education. He was appointed Chairman of the Town of Hamden Charter Revision Committee in 1965 and guided the proposed new Charter through the Legislative Counsel approval process.

In 1967 Attorney Greco was appointed Hamden Town Attorney by incoming Mayor William M. Adams and served in that capacity until 1973, which was longer than any of his predecessors in the post. Upon assuming this position he established, for the first time in the history of the town, an office in the Town Hall to accommodate himself, his three Assistant Town Attorneys and the office staff. Previously the Legal Department had been scattered in several locations. At the same time, he chaired the Town Beautification Committee which, among many other projects, accomplished a major change of the facade of the Town Hall, the renovation of the iconic cupola at the Hamden High School with the addition of lighting, the replacement of two abandoned gasoline filling stations with mini-parks and the replacement of asphalt sidewalks with concrete.

An aviation enthusiast, he was a pilot with several hundred hours of airtime. He joined the Civil Air Patrol and rose to the rank of Major.

He continued to practice law in Hamden until 1985 at which time he returned to Miami, later moving to Palm City, FL, and concentrated in Mediation and Arbitration matters. In 1992 he was certified by the State of Florida as a Circuit Civil Mediator and later became one of the first Arbitrators in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Once established in Palm City, he served as a volunteer pro bono attorney for Florida Rural Legal Services from 2012 to 2017 and provided legal assistance at no cost to qualified individuals.

In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his daughters-in-law, Valerie Greco and Cara Greco, MD and his son-in-law Dan Berglund. Also surviving are his seven grandchildren: J. Peter Greco, Esq., Lt. Samuel A. Greco, USN, Esq., Grace N. Greco, Esq., Elise M. Greco, Joseph Cole Greco, Joseph Renard Berglund and Lucia Claire Berglund. He was predeceased by his sister, Rose Marie Dextradeur, and son-in-law, George M. Fasanella, Esq.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Palm

City on Monday, October

24, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. A luncheon reception will immediately follow at Monarch Country Club in Palm City.