New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘ALL AROUND GOOD GUY’
West Haven mourns former tax collector
WEST HAVEN — If ever you needed to find Fran Withington, he was probably smoking a cigar by the shoreline.
“He was a fixture down there,” said former Mayor Ed O’Brien.
Withington, a former tax collector for the city, died Sunday. He was 74.
O’Brien said he spoke with Withington daily for
years as a friend and mentor. “He was one of those guys where I’d bounce things off him,” O’Brien said. “He had a witty humor and loved to be out among people. Very personable.”
Debbie Collins, a longtime city clerk, said Withington did not just look at the glass as half-full — he always saw it as completely full.
“He was always looking on the sunny side,” she said.
Under the O’Brien
administration, Withington was made part-time complaints officer. Collins said Withington took the job of helping his community so seriously that it became well known in City Hall.
“Every time he had to go on a complaint he would end up helping everybody,” she said, figuring out who in the community needed new furniture, groceries or a ride and giving it to them.
“I love West Haven. It’s my home. It’s my family’s home.
All my kids are here,” Withington said when he was appointed complaints officer in 2014. “I want it to be better, just like Ed (O’Brien) wants it to be better, and I’m pleased to be a member of the team.”
Withington is survived by three children — son Gary and daughters Denise and Dawn. Withington’s daughters described their father as someone who threw himself into helping others, with a deep passion for his city.
“He’s always been involved in politics since I was a little girl,” said Dawn Withington. “Me and my sister used to get dropped off on the streetcorner to hand out pamphlets.”
Denise Withington said many people her age once were employed by her father at the former Sears Roebuck Factory, where he worked for 32 years.
“They all remember that in a positive, fun way,” she said.
Denise Withington said she believes it was family that helped inspire her father to
keep going for so long through a lengthy illness.
“I have a 15-year-old daughter and she was the bright spot in his day,” she said. “Seeing her grow up really kept him going.”
Collins said Withington had “millions of friends” in the city, many of whom he likely did not know their last names, but he was extremely generous and helpful to all. She said that helping others with recovery from alcoholism was an active cause for him. Denise Withington said her father was sober for more than 30 years.
“He was on the 12-step program. He survived all that and ran all those meetings and had such a great connection with his program there and he was just a kind man,” Collins said. “He just was a good person that wanted to help everybody.
He knew the demons some people had and your secret was safe with him.”
Dawn Withington said that, after announcing her father’s death, there were hundreds of comments on social media platforms. Among the ones that touched her the most were people commenting that her father had saved their life.
“He wanted to leave West Haven better than when he found it,” she said.
O’Brien said Withington was deeply embedded in city politics because he wanted what was best for the city.
“He was a Democrat, but he just wanted what was best for West Haven. He supported the person he thought was the best candidate,” he said. “He was just an all-around good guy.”