Community Corner

'He's With the God He Loved So Much'

Nello Ceccarelli, Town's Longest-Serving Elected Official, Eulogized in Service at Holy Family Church

Nello Ceccarelli, Fairfield's longest-serving elected official, was remembered Monday for the strength of his religious faith and his concern for others in a Mass at Holy Family Church on Old Stratfield Road.

Ceccarelli, who served for more than 50 years as a member of Fairfield's Representative Town Meeting, lived a modest life and didn't need a lot of material possessions, but he spoke often at the RTM of the town's need to be frugal because he knew a lot of people in Fairfield were struggling. He shared his faith with others because he found joy in his faith and wanted others to find happiness also, said First Selectman Ken Flatto.

"He did it because he wanted us to be prayerful. He wanted us to find peace...He wanted us to be happy. It was that simple," Flatto said. "He was a man for everyone. He was a man who cared about every member of his community."

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Ceccarelli, 94, died Thursday at his home on Marlborough Terrace. In addition to his longtime service on the RTM and advocacy on behalf of taxpayers, Ceccarelli was known for setting up a Nativity scene on the Town Green every December and standing vigil over it, day and night, for three days as town regulations required.

Ceccarelli also brought actors to Sherman Green every Easter to stage a re-enactment of Christ's crucifixion, and he was a crusader to restore prayer in public schools, as well as lobbying town boards and commissions to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before meetings.

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Monsignor Kevin Royal, Ceccarelli's nephew and the priest who led Monday's service, said Ceccarelli was born of immigrant parents but fit so easily into American culture and society, embracing the ideals of God, family and country, "it was as if his name was John Smith and he came over on the Mayflower."

Christianity is believed by many to embody mercy, kindness and compassion, but Ceccarelli also reflected its other attributes - courageousness, fearlessness and perseverance, Royal said.

Royal said Ceccarelli's deep faith in God and convictions weren't shaken by the winds of change or fashions of the times. "He knew what he believed. He acted accordingly and acted without fear," he said.

Bishop William Lori was unable to attend Ceccarelli's service but sent a message to be read in which Lori praised Ceccarelli's "enormous faith and conviction" and said he greatly appreciated Ceccarelli's "witness to Christ every Christmas and how he lived that conviction every day of the year."

Matthew Lucibello, Ceccarelli's grandson, said Ceccarelli raised money for research into Alzheimer's disease, a disease that would afflict Ceccarelli toward the end of his life, and would help homeless people by giving them food and clothes and letting them stay in a shed where he had installed plumbing and a cot. He loved math and would visit elementary schools and help children with their times tables, rewarding them with a dollar afterward if they completed them, Lucibello said.

Lucibello said his grandfather was hard working, devoted, kind, caring and had very strong convictions. He said his grandfather also loved his name, telling voters "My name is Nello. It rhymes with Jello" and offering a monetary incentive for his children to name one of his grandchildren "Nello." When that didn't happen, Ceccarelli bought a goat, named him "Nello," and kept him in his backyard. He brought the goat with him a few times to the Nativity scene on Town Green, which he set up every December for 20 years  in the days leading up to Christmas.

About a decade ago, Ceccarelli set up a shrine to the Virgin Mary on Fairchild Avenue property he owned by Interstate 95, and he would visit the shrine for hours in the hope of seeing the Virgin Mary, Royal said.

"That is our prayer, that he sees the Lord and sees the Blessed Mary," Royal said.

Lucibello said, "I find peace in the fact that my grandfather is now in heaven. He's with the God he loved so much."

Lucibello ended his eulogy with a phrase Ceccarelli was known for whenever he parted company with someone - "May the Lord take a liking to you."


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