Coming from the town’s historic and influential Glover family, Lee Glover, Sr, was an active member in the Newtown community for many years, much like his ancestors. He passed away November 1.

He was well known in town through his involvement with Newtown Hook & Ladder Volunteer Fire Company, where he served as chief for 20 years.

When the Hook & Ladder officially moved its firehouse from behind the Edmond Town Hall to Church Hill Road on September 2, 2016, Glover told The Newtown Bee, “This is one of the happiest days of my life,” for the fire company to finally occupy suitable facilities.

Glover also dedicated himself to the community through his work on the Board of Burgesses of the Borough of Newtown, by operating of Newtown School Bus #21, and when organizing the first Newtown Labor Day Parade.

He went on to serve as the parade’s grand marshal five times — in 1962, 1963, 1967, 1971, and 2011 — which is more than anyone else in the parade’s nearly 60-year history.

Through his civic endeavors, he made many lifelong friends along the way.

As the news began to spread of Glover’s death, those who knew him sent in their condolences and shared memories of times they had with him:

Joan Crick

Lee Glover’s sister, Joan Crick, reminisced of their childhood, saying, “When Lee and I were children, we had a dog named Sheppy. He was a big black and brown mutt. When Lee would ride his bike, Sheppy would always follow him. Later when Lee got his driver’s license, he would drive to his job at the Edmond Town Hall (he collected the tickets at the movie theater). Sheppy would make his way up to the town hall from our family home at the head of Glover Avenue. He would wait by Lee’s car until Lee was finished with work. Sheppy would start out the evening by sleeping on my bed. But as soon as Lee came home, he would immediately head to Lee’s room for the rest of the night. Lee loved the dogs he had throughout his life. Sheppy was Lee’s faithful companion just as every dog he had was, including his last dog, Geisala. I will miss my brother.”

Maureen Crick Owen

Newtown Selectmen Maureen Crick Owen said, “I was lucky to have Lee as my uncle. Lee had so much knowledge about the history of Newtown, given this is where he lived for much of his life and was tenth generation of the Glover family. I enjoyed listening to his stories about his ‘adventures’ with my father, Jim Crick, his commitment to Newtown Hook & Ladder, and about the town in general. One of my favorite memories was watching Lee march with Newtown Hook & Ladder in the Labor Day Parade. Lee’s last march was in 2019, where he marched strong at the age of 90. I will miss Lee, his stories, and watching him march with NH&L.”

Lee Glover, Jr

Lee Glover, Jr, remembers his father fondly saying, “He was a kind and caring person. He was very involved in the town.”

One of Lee, Sr’s biggest accomplishments was getting to follow in his father Walter Glover’s footsteps and become fire chief at Newtown Hook & Ladder.

Lee, Jr recalled how his father even started the cadette program in 1945 to encourage more men to join the firehouse during wartime.

In recent years, he had spoken with his father more about their family’s history, which he says dates to when Newtown was founded, but added that there is still much he has yet to learn.

Dan Rosenthal

First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said, “I was very sorry to hear of Lee’s passing. I fondly remember Lee and his late wife, Pat, when they drove me to and from Hawley School from first through fifth grade on Bus #21. I also remember my grandfather, Jack, bringing me to the Hook & Ladder building when it was behind Edmond Town Hall and thinking it was so cool that my bus driver had also been their Chief. Lee proudly marched with Hook & Ladder in the Labor Day Parade for many years and as recently as a summer ago. He was a Newtowner through and through, and I hope it brings peace and comfort to his family knowing what a positive impact he had on our town and all that had the pleasure of knowing him.”

R. Scudder Smith

R. Scudder Smith, owner and publisher of The Newtown Bee, grew up next to Lee Glover. For years, the Smiths and Glovers were next-door neighbors along Main Street.

“I remember playing hopscotch with Joan [(Glover) Crick] and Lee regularly on the sidewalk in front of their house,” he said this week. “It seemed like there was a pattern scratched into that sidewalk every day.”

Jay Maher

Borough of Newtown Warden Jay Maher said, “My most fond memory of Lee is of a couple years ago when he marched in the Labor Day Parade in full uniform with his beloved Newtown Hook & Ladder. He beamed with a smile from ear to ear. Lee Glover was truly a hometown boy that proudly served his community and made it better. He was Burgess and Warden with the Borough of Newtown and served in all capacities with Newtown Hook & Ladder. I am grateful to have known him. The Borough lost a friend this week.”

Carolyn Gies

Newtown resident Carolyn Gies, a former neighbor of Glover, said, “The first time I met Lee I was 8 years old and we had just moved in the house. He arrived at the back door on the bike selling eggs; his dad had chickens. My mother bought eggs from him for years… I watched Lee and Joan grow up, and they watched me grow up. I’ve always had a wonderful relationship with Lee. I loved to kid him, and he would kid me right back — he always told me at any party that I was the loudest one there.”

Being part of the Hook & Ladder family, with both her sons and husband affiliated with the company, she always supported the group at the Labor Day Parade and had a special tradition with Glover each year.

“I watched him in every [Labor Day] Parade when he was marching and would run out and give him a hug and a kiss,” she said.

She cherishes those times, as well as the last parade memory she has with him. The two sat with their good friends Peggy and Stretch Forbell at Hook & Ladder after the parade and “laughed a lot” sharing old memories together.

Ed Shanley

Newtown resident Ed Shanley remembers vividly the first time he met Glover after moving to town. He recalled, “I had a store in the center of town and went to throw some stuff out in the garbage. I looked up toward Main Street and saw a lot of smoke coming down the hill. Myself and my brother, who was a butcher at the time in the store, ran up the hill and there was a barn up on Main Street [burning] pretty good. The fire department didn’t get there yet. When the first truck came in, myself, my brother, and another butcher, who was a volunteer firefighter in Bethel, started putting the fire out. Lee was the first one that came, then the other guys came in… the next day he came down to the store and thanked me for helping him and that he really appreciated it. That was the kind of guy he was.”

During that conversation, Glover invited him to go to the firehouse; Shanley went on to be a member for two decades and is now a life member.

“At times it was very dangerous,” Shanley said of the work the firefighters did during his tenure. “If [he] told you to do something, you just did it, because you knew he knew what to do. He was a great leader and I was very close to him.”

Other memories he shared with The Newtown Bee were from his experience participating in Labor Day Parades.

“Two years ago, he asked me to march with him in the parade — he was 90 years old — and we walked that parade. We both made it,” he said. “The next year I had a problem with my knee and rode in the truck. He wanted to try and went out there and marched that parade, only a couple times he had to come in the truck with me. He was very proud. He was so proud of Newtown and his family… he was a good friend and an honest and true guy. What more could you ask for?”