Letter to the Editor: More Thoughts on the Passing of Old Lyme’s ‘Statesman-in-Residence’

To the Editor:

Last week-Old Lyme lost its statesman-in-residence, Lowell Weicker, who lived on Lyme Street near the Library Lane intersection; and even before that, in a cottage on Ball Lane, which must have barely contained his 6 foot, 6 inches.  I do not want to repeat his extensive list of accomplishments, which have already been noted in several tributes, but rather amplify one area, which has had a long impact on the nation’s health.

Senator Weicker played a prominent role in securing funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct clinical trials on HIV/AIDS at a time when it was sharply opposed by then President Reagan. He knew the importance of government involvement in disease research and increased appropriations for the NIH. He also sponsored the Protection and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill Act in 1985 and in 1988 introduced legislation that would become the Americans with Disabilities Act. He told the Courant that “my crowning achievement was I wrote most of the disabilities laws in the country.”

Many still only remember that as governor of the state with the largest deficit in the nation. he found it necessary to come to grips with and then overhaul CT’s tax laws. He has been described as “blunt”, “feisty”, and “larger than life”. I guess it’s a combination of all three.

In closing, my best to his family. I also want to recognize Claudia Weicker’s important development work as Chair of the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center.

Sincerely,

Thomas D. Gotowka,
Old Lyme.