Vincent A. LAUDONE

LAUDONE, Vincent A.

Vincent A. Laudone, lawyer, World War II veteran, state legislator and volunteer in many political, civic and community organizations, died (June 5, 2011) in Rocky Hill, CT, in his 93rd year. A life-long resident of Norwich, CT, he attended local grammar schools and graduated from the Norwich Free Academy in 1936, from Wesleyan University in 1940 and from Boston University School of Law in 1949. Laudone's law studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the US Army as a Private and served in the Infantry from September 1941 to March 1946 as part of the European campaign attaining the rank of Captain. Responsible for 156 men, Laudone spent six months on the front lines in the Black Forest of Germany in 1944-45. He received numerous military awards, including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantry Badge and American Defense Ribbon. As the Commanding Officer of Company H, 100th Division, he and his company were cited for outstanding accomplishment in combat and awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest honor an Army unit can receive. Throughout his life, Laudone was active in veterans' affairs and remembering those who lost their lives in service of Country. For many years, he was the Parade Marshall for the City of Norwich organizing the Memorial Day and other parades, speaking at veterans' ceremonies and lecturing in local schools to honor veterans. A life-long member of the American Legion and the VFW, Laudone was named Veteran of the Year in 1999 by the Norwich Area Veterans Council. Laudone began his legal career in 1949, focusing primarily on criminal law. He was a founding partner of the current Brown Jacobson, PC, law firm and continued to practice for more than 50 years. He was President of the New London County Bar Association in the early 1970s and a member of the Judicial Selection Commission for the State of Connecticut from 1986 to 1994. Always interested in politics, Laudone began on the Norwich Board of Selectmen in the early 1950s, was a member of the Norwich Republican Town Committee for more than 30 years, the Republican State Central Committee for 20 years, and became Chairman of the Connecticut Republican State Central Committee in the mid-1970s. He also served as Representative from the 62nd Assembly District in the Connecticut Legislature from 1967 to 1969. In the 1990s he was appointed to the State Commission to Effect Government Reorganization. Laudone was associated with many corporate and civic organizations, including as a Director of the Norwich Savings Society, a Corporator of the William W. Backus Hospital, and as a member of the Norwich Lodge of Elks, the Knights of Columbus and the United Italian Society, which named him an Italian of the Year in 1995. He received numerous awards and citations for his work, culminating in being named Citizen of the Year for 2001 by the Chambers of Commerce in Eastern Connecticut. A proponent of exercise and an avid tennis player, he began on the red clay courts at Mohegan Park, and played well into his 80s, even teaching tennis in his later years to groups at the Norwich Senior Center. Laudone was predeceased by his beloved wife of more than 50 years, Wanda Zdanowski, whom he married in 1943 at Fort Jackson, SC, before being sent to the European theater. His brother, Theodore Laudone, and his sister, Lorraine Doyle, also predeceased him. He is survived by his daughter, Anita Laudone, and her husband, Colin Harley, of Charleston, SC, and his son, Dr. Vincent Laudone, and his wife, Katharyn, of Glastonbury, CT, as well as six grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank the dedicated and hard working staff of Atria Greenridge in Rocky Hill for their superb care over the last several years, as well as the Hartford VNA hospice for their many efforts in his final days. A special thank you to his devoted care-givers: Dao, Nancy, and Gillian.
A funeral mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church in Norwichtown on Friday, June 10, 2011 at 11 a.m Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery. In keeping with his often quoted belief that "an education no one can take away from you" and in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Norwich Free Academy Foundation, Inc., 321 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. The Woyasz & Son Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.