The public is warmly invited by the City of New Haven and the family of Frank Logue to attend a Memorial Celebration of his life on April 30, 2011, 3:00 p.m. at City Hall, 165 Church Street, New Haven, CT.
Mayor John DeStefano will lead a program of Frank Logue’s colleagues
and family members in a celebratory tribute to this devoted citizen of
New Haven. Local leaders Judge Ted Baldwin and sculptor Ann P. Lehman
will be joined by Hugh Price, Logue’s Director of Human Resources, now
of Princeton University and the Brookings Institution, and Luis Alvarez, who led the Logue-founded National Urban Fellows program for many years. New Haven public school hoirs will provide music for the occasion and cantor Jonathan Gordon will lead those assembled in song. Light refreshments and a display of memorabilia will be available after the ceremony.
Philadelphia-born Frank Logue first made New Haven his home as an
undergraduate at Yale University and stayed to complete a law degree in
1951. He practiced law in Bridgeport and Trumbull, Connecticut while
participating in civil rights activities and Democratic Party politics
as an organizer and candidate. In 1965 he gave up his law office and
returned to New Haven to join the War on Poverty as director of
Community Progress Inc.’s Community Action Institute. In 1969 he
founded the National Urban Fellows Program which continues to train
minorities and women for positions of civic leadership and celebrated
the graduation of its 40th class in 2010.
After three terms as alderman of New Haven’s 18th ward, Logue
challenged the incumbent mayor Democrat Bart Guida in 1975. With a
crew of idealistic citizens, he won an upset primary election and served as mayor until 1979. He brought reform and innovation to city
government in an effort to revitalize the city. Notable accomplishments include collaborating on the payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program bringing much needed revenue to Connecticut cities, negotiating public ownership of the public water supply, winning federal funds for community development, initiating the restoration of the Shubert Theater and establishing the country’s first outdoor Holocaust memorial.
Once out of office, Frank Logue remained a vital leader in New Haven
for 29 years, contributing to the efforts of numerous community and arts organizations. After helping to establish the public access cable
television channel Citizens Television, he shared his enthusiasm for the city by showcasing interesting people and projects benefitting New
Haven.
The Logues’ 60 year marriage was a source of strength and pride. The
former mayor’s wife, Mary Ann Logue served as 18th ward chairlady and
directed Sage Advocate in the late 1960s and 1970s. Later she obtained
a master of divinity degree from Yale, was ordained as an Episcopalian
priest and served in parishes in New Haven, West Haven and Waterbury.
He is also survived by a younger sister, Ellen, three children, two
grandchildren and a close-knit extended family of nieces and nephews and their children.
To view and contribute to the memorial website, please visit:
forevermissed.com/flogue.
