He was, by all accounts, the epitome of the passionate public servant, a tireless leader and peacemaker who piloted Norwalk safely through the Civil Rights Movement, an era of racial violence nearly everywhere but here. The youngest mayor in the city’s history at 33 and its first Italian-American one, Democrat Frank Zullo served three terms from 1965 to 1971. He remained an icon for life.

Norwalk High School and Jefferson and Marvin schools were built during Zullo’s tenture. He also co-founded the Connecticut Conference of Mayors, and helped bring the Democratic Party “out of its smoke-filled room days,” according to former Mayor Bill Collins. After losing the 1974 governor’s race to Ella Grasso, he never again sought public office, returning to his firm, Tierney & Zullo, where he practiced law for more than half a century.