Politics & Government

Larry Miguel Obituary

Larry Miguel of Danbury, a founding member of Danbury's Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team and a friendly, funny Danbury guy, died Wednesday morning.

Larry J. Miguel, 65 of Danbury, husband of Elaine (Smith) Miguel died on Wednesday morning, August 15, surrounded by his family at his home after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Larry was born in Danbury, May 31, 1947, a son of the late Larry S. and Sally (Oliva) Miguel. He attended Danbury schools and Henry Abbott Technical School. As a Portuguese descendant, Larry and his family have been involved with the Danbury Portuguese community.
He proudly served in the U.S. Navy Construction Battalions and in the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam War and was a member of the Catholic War Veterans Post 1042 and the Marine Corps League Hat City Detachment. Miguel told a story of how he always carried a sawed-off shotgun in Viet Nam, and knowing Larry, it might or it might not have been true.

Larry began his career with the City of Danbury in 1970 when he started as a City of Danbury Fireman. He served for nine brave years before beginning his position as a City of Danbury Assistant Building Inspector and Zoning Officer. Larry worked in that capacity until 1983 until he was employed with the Town of New Canaan in their Building Department.
He returned as a City employee taking on the role of Blight Inspector with the Illegal Apartment Enforcement Team. Larry used his multi-language and people skills throughout his career, earning him a reputation throughout the City as a nice guy who still can get the job done. In March of 2005, Larry was recognized as the City of Danbury's "Employee of the Month" and commended for his dedicated work for the people of the community. His most recent work was with the Office of Neighborhood Assistance and its Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team (U.N.I.T.).

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Larry will be remembered for telling a good joke and for impersonating others. Fire Chief Geoffrey Herald tells a story of Miguel getting on the loudspeaker at the Fire Department to imitate the chief berating Firefighter Herald so everyone could hear.

Miguel could be the understanding and sometimes not so understanding voice of reason in three languages while working with the UNIT to get people to clean up their garbage. Miguel was the go-to member who spoke Spanish and Portuguese.

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He has been known to show off some flashy moves on the dance floor and had the ability to play an assortment of musical instruments without the ability to read a note. He enjoyed his time spent at the Atlantic City casinos as well as Mohegan Sun Resort. The amount of life Larry enjoyed and shared in his sixty-five short years some do not attain in eighty years. In quoting Mayor Mark D. Boughton, "there is a deep love and appreciation throughout our City for Larry Miguel. We value each laugh we have shared with him and we are thankful for all that he has done for our community". In addition to his wife, Elaine, he is survived by two sons, Brian Miguel and Danbury Fire Department Lt. Mark Miguel and his wife, Lynda all of Danbury; a daughter, Tricia Pane and her husband, Louis of Danbury; a stepson, David Van Pelt of Los Angeles, CA; a stepdaughter, Dina Ramon and her husband, Henry of Norwalk, CT; a brother, Ronald Miguel and his wife, Melissa of Alpharetta, GA; six grandchildren, Ryan, Karyssa, Joey, Kevin, Ava and Isabel and also by his former wife, Paulette (Krizan) Miguel of Danbury.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Miguel was predeceased by a sister, Sharon Miguel. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 10:30 AM in St. Joseph Church, Danbury. Interment will take place in St. Peter Cemetery, Danbury at the direction of the family. The family will receive friends in the Jowdy-Kane Funeral Home, 9-11 Granville Ave., Danbury on Thursday, August 16, 2012 from 4 PM to 8PM. Contributions in Mr. Miguel's memory may be made to the Larry J. Miguel Scholarship Fund, Catholic War Veterans Post 1042, attention Mr. Albert Mead, Shalvoy's Lane, Danbury, CT 06810.

This obituary was provided by the Jowdy-Kane Funeral Home.


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