Neighbors coming together to help family

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Frederick R. Sego Jr.
Frederick R. Sego Jr.

NAUGATUCK — He was the type of guy who would help fix his neighbor’s car, their house or their lawn mower if he saw they were struggling.

Now, neighbors of Fred Sego are doing all they can to help his family. Sego, a man known community-wide for his altruism, died in November. He was 53.

“If he saw you outside working on something, he would always come over and help, no matter what he was doing previously,” said neighbor Rocky Vitale, a Naugatuck burgess. “He was just a great, great guy.”

So Vitale and other neighbors thought they would pay it forward. Sego’s family is in need of money because Fred Sego was self-employed and the sole breadwinner for the family, which includes his wife, Sondra, and four children, the youngest of whom is in middle school.

Not long before Fred Sego died, ground settled under the Sego family home on Old Waterbury Road in Naugatuck. The foundation cracked, damaging the structure and water pipes. The insurance company would not pay for damages, so Fred Sego did most of the work himself.

“Now that Fred is gone, there is a huge emotional and financial hole in the Sego household,” Vitale said.

Several of Sego’s friends and neighbors are organizing a benefit pasta dinner for the family on Friday, Feb. 7, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at City Hill Middle School. Tickets are $10, and there will be a variety of raffle prizes. All money raised will go toward the Sego family.

If he were still alive, Fred Sego would do the same thing for any of his neighbors, said Diane Scinto, another Sego neighbor and the chairwoman of Naugatuck’s Board of Finance.

Sondra Sego said she is overwhelmed with the response people have given.

“Our neighbors are just the most wonderful people,” she said. “They have been amazing through all of this. It goes to show how much people appreciated Fred because he really was willing to give of himself to help anyone who needed it.”

Tickets are available at City Hill Middle School, or by calling Rocky or Sue at (203) 723-0326, Tamra at (203) 343-6349, Diane at (203) 709-0488 or Terri at (203) 729-0356. Donations can be mailed to 162 East Waterbury Road, Naugatuck, CT 06770.