Funeral Procession Today For Mr. Daniel Vece, Jr. - Expect Road Closures In Town

Funeral Service and road closure schedule for today, Tuesday, April 26.

Funeral Service: Tuesday, April 26, 11am, St. Mary's Church of the Visitation, 54 Grove Street, Clinton

Procession: The Clinton Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) members will have a marching procession.  At 10:00am – the CVFD will march from their fire station to Swan’s Funeral Home on East Main Street. Traffic on Rt 1 from the town center to Liberty Street will be closed for 10 minutes. 

At 10:20am, the fire department will march from Swan’s Funeral Home to St. Mary’s Church on Grove Street until 11:00am. Expect Rt 1 to be closed from Swan’s to Grove Street. Intersections will reopen as the procession passes by.

At around 12:15pm - 12:30pm – the procession will leave St. Mary’s Church on Grove Street and march to Beaver Brook Cemetery (2.2 miles) via Rt 1 and Rt 145.

Expect Rt 1 to be delayed and/or closed until about 2:00pm.

The procession should not impact the school bus schedule. 

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With accolades, awards and a lifetime of distinguished service to his favorite town of Clinton, Daniel “Dan” Vece, Jr., 85, passed away April 16.

He was a former first selectman, fire chief and business owner in town.

Vece was born in the house where he resided – which was once the home of his parents. He was married to Isabelle, who predeceased him. They had three children.

Vece’s family has long roots in town. His mother was a concert pianist who volunteered her time to local kids’ sing-a-longs and concerts. His father, who had a band, also volunteered his time for the town. His grandfather on his mother’s side was responsible for founding the Governor’s Foot Guard Band and the New Haven Symphony. The family also founded Shore Television & Appliances, Inc.

Commemorating many years of service to the town, Vece has received accolades including the Distinguished Citizen Award, Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year and Clinton Spirit awards, and public service awards from the Rotary Club, Lions Club, Republican Town Committee, Democratic Town Committee, Junior Women’s Club, The Morgan School, American Legion and the Connecticut State General Assembly.

In 2009 he had the added distinction of being inducted into the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame – an honor bestowed on only 11 people that year.

Vece was an active member and former commander of the American Legion Post 66, member and former commander of VFW Post 9918, and a national speaker and member of the Iwo Jima Survivors Associations.

While a senior at The Morgan School, Vece enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1944.

Vece fought in several battles at Iwo Jima. In April of 1946 he was discharged and went to work for his father at Shoreline Plumbing. When his brother Bud returned home from the service, they went into business together with Russ Norton and Joe Patti. This year, Shore Television & Appliances, Inc. will celebrate its 54th year in business.

Vece served as Clinton’s First Selectman from 1972 to 1978 and was a member of the Board of Selectmen for eight years. He was a lifetime member of the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department and served as the assistant fire chief for 25 years and as fire chief for 10 years. One of the department’s annual awards, Firefighter of the Year, is named after him. He was a member of the Lions Club, Police Commission, Valley Shore Mutual Aid Association and Council of Small Towns.

He was co-chairman of Clinton’s 300th birthday celebration, co-chairman of Clinton’s bi-centennial celebration and led the Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day celebrations for more than 30 years.

In addition, he was chairman of the State Emergency Communications Study Commission, senior member of the State Economic Development Commission and senior member of the State Public Works Commission. He also worked for the state and three of its governors for 11 years.

Among many other family members, Vece is survived by his three children: Nancy, Tommy and Marsha; and grandchildren Garrett and Ashley and one great grandchild. He is also survived by his brother Bud Vece, and nieces and nephews.