Police, fire hold birthday parade for ex-Chief

Police and fire personnel hold drive-by birthday parade for retired police chief and WWII veteran

Friends, family, and first responders honored retired Mentor Police Chief Thomas Fracci on April 7.

(Dan Fracci) was able to give his grandfather one last ride in his old army car before he moved into the Symphony senior living community.

Retired Mentor Police Chief Thomas Fracci’s friends and family joined together with current and former Mentor police and fire staff for an April 7 parade to honor the 95-year-old’s birthday.

Fracci and other residents of the Symphony at Mentor senior living community were able to enjoy the sunshine outside as a parade of Mentor police cruisers, fire trucks and some antique rescue vehicles drove by with many officers pausing to say hello and drop off birthday cards.

The retired chief said the parade was “just wonderful” and enjoyed the celebration.

Fracci served as a patrolman for the Mentor police department from 1946 to the late 1960s, when he rose through the ranks and became police chief until his retirement in 1981.

His daughter Jill Fracci said that before he joined the police force he served in the U.S. military in his late teens, fighting in an armored tank division under General George Patton in World War II.

Police work seems to run in the family, Jill Fracci explained, as her two sons are both following in their grandfather’s footsteps. She said her younger son is in college studying to become a police officer, and her older son, Dan Fracci, already serves on the force for Russell Township.

Dan Fracci joined in the parade by driving the family’s antique 1952 Willys Army Jeep, which first belonged to his grandfather.

“I learned to drive on this thing when I was little, it’s always been in our family,” Dan Fracci said. “And then once he [Thomas Fracci] wasn’t able to drive anymore, I inherited it and kept it running and the family legacy going

Dan Fracci added that through taking care of the Jeep he was able to give his grandfather one last ride in his old army car before he moved into the Symphony senior living community.

PHOTOS BY SHEENA HOLLAND DOLAN — THE NEWS-HERALD Former Mentor police chief Thomas Fracci, center, celebrates his 95th birthday with his daughter, Jill Fracci, and two of his grandsons.

Thomas Fracci’s grandson, Dan Fracci, drives a 1952 Willys Army Jeep in the parade, which has been in the family for generations.

Fracci’s birthday parade included an assortment of police and fire vehicles, even antique vehicles originally serving Mentor Township.