Occupation: I am a retired systems engineer for Perkin-Elmer and Barnes Engineering. I was program manager for the primary and secondary mirrors on the Hubbell telescope, on one project. I was a chairman and member for over 17 years of the Newtown Zoning Board of Appeals, I served as a selectman under Bob Cascella, and I have served on the Newtown Legislative Council. I helped form the Newtown Health District about ten or 15 years ago, and I was coach and president of Newtown Pop Warner. Right now I chair the Northwest Regional Mental Health and Addiction Services and I’m on the state board for it, as well.

Family: Marie is my wife. We were married in 1959. We have four children, Jay, Brian, Jacqueline, and Amy. All of my children were brought up in the Newtown school system. We have two grandchildren in Oxford, three in Massachusetts, and one in Thomaston; six in all.

Pets: We’ve had pets all of our lives, but we don’t now. We dog-sit now. My daughter Amy has a dog that’s 100 pounds that we sit for, and my son has a beagle that we go up to Massachusetts and bring down here to baby-sit.

How long have you been in Newtown? We have been here since 1959, in the same house. We put an addition on the house when the kids came, and we have added on to the land. Otherwise, it’s the same place.

What do you like to do in your free time? I work around the yard. I like to cut wood and garden. I do a lot of reading and I work on the computer. I still like to consult on engineering problems.

Do you have favorite book? Mostly I read math books and things like that. I read the engineering magazines and journals, mostly that have to do with computers.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? We do a bit of traveling. We have been to a lot of the national parks. But mostly we travel to see the grandchildren. That’s what’s most important.

Do you have a hero? I would say Willie Pep, Steinmitz, Einstein, and Da Vinci. I admire Willie because he was a featherweight with the uncanny ability to control his opponent. Da Vinci, for his list of inventions and his art ability. That man was phenomenal. The other two I admire for being great mathematicians. It wasn’t just pure math. It was the math and physics, the relationship to real things.

What is the best thing about Newtown? It’s the people. They’re not typical New Englanders or New Yorkers. They’re the best of all worlds. Newtown is a blend of everything.

What is the biggest change you have seen in Newtown? Population growth and traffic. There has been a major change in the number of cars on the road. We used to commute to Stamford and be the only car on the road. That’s the big thing. And prices on everything have gone out of sight. Everything takes a big jump.

Do you have a personal philosophy? It’s about how to treat people, it’s the commandments. You need to do to others as you would have them do to you.

What do you most value? My family; then the country; then the political party, in that order. I would do anything for my family.