HARTFORD — Former House colleagues paid tribute to former state Rep. Kevin DelGobbo of Naugatuck during a memorial Saturday, 10 months after his unexpected death.
State Rep. Linda Orange, D-Colchester, fondly recounted how she and DelGobbo joined the General Assembly back in 1997.
“Kevin and I came in here as classmates together, and seriously there was no one better than Kevin M. DelGobbo,” Orange said. “Kevin always had a smile on his face. If you were having a bad day, he made it into a good day.”
State Rep. John E. Piscopo, R-Thomaston, said he and DelGobbo were fast friends.
“I went to a lot of dinners with him, parties with him, went to many of the cities of this country with him, toured with him, and he was just a lot of fun to be around, and it was great to be in his company,” he said.
Whenever Piscopo needed help working a bill or something else, he said DelGobbo was always there.
“He just revered this place. He just loved this chamber and the people he worked with, and he loved the policy,” Piscopo said.
The unexpected loss of DelGobbo at age 53 last July stunned former legislative colleagues and the borough of Naugatuck, where DelGobbo served as the mayor’s aide and on numerous volunteer boards and where many considered him a friend.
State Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, R-Naugatuck, led the House tribute to DelGobbo on Saturday. She succeeded him after he resigned his seat of 12 years in January 2009 after then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell appointed him to the Department of Public Utility Control, the forerunner of today’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.
“Kevin DelGobbo was a very dedicated individual who loved his work, and his family, and his friends,” Rebimbas said, describing him as a legend in their hometown of Naugatuck.
DelGobbo was a good friend to state Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, R-Prospect, and her husband.
“I just want to say my life is more full and blessed to have him part of my life,” she said.
Some of DelGobbo’s family members and friends, including W. Barry Stiber, DelGobbo’s father, Christina and Greg Dwire, his sister and brother-in-law, and Sandy Lee, his girlfriend, attended the 30-minute memorial.
State Rep. David Labriola, R-Oxford, addressed DelGobbo’s loved ones. He served three terms with DelGobbo before he resigned.
“He loved you so much. Kevin loved his friends so much, and his dearest Sandy as well,” Labriola said.
After leaving PURA, DelGobbo became an adviser to Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary for two years. State Rep. Geraldo Reyes, D-75th District, came to know DelGobbo while he was working in Waterbury.
“I had the privilege of working him with the entire time he was there. I found him to be a brilliant, caring and sharing individually, and certainly nobody put more hours in than that man. I was really moved by his untimely death,” he said.
Through tears, House Minority Leader Themis Klarides described DelGobbo as a loving family man, a distinguished public servant, and a rare commodity in politics.
“In this crazy worked we live in, in this crazy place we work in, to find people that good in this day and age is not easy,” she said.
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, told DelGobbo’s family that his death was a profound loss to state of Connecticut.
