Greenwich Mourns Death Of Former First Selectman Rebecca Breed

GREENWICH, CT — The town of Greenwich is mourning the loss of Rebecca Breed, a lifelong Greenwich resident and a former first selectman, who died on June 13 following complications from Alzheimer's disease. She was 85.

Breed graduated from Greenwich Country Day School and Choate Rosemary Hall, where she was an accomplished athlete, according to her obituary. She was inducted into the Choate Rosemary Hall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Breed, a Republican, was first elected to the board of selectmen in 1979 as a selectman, and was elected as first selectman in 1981, followed by a second term as selectman from 1983 to 1985.

After raising her four children and serving on the board of selectmen, Breed returned to college and graduated cum laude from Manhattanville College at 48 years old, her obituary said. She then went to law school and graduated from Pace University at the age of 55.

Breed served as a special public defender for juvenile matters, Guardian Ad Litem, and was a member of an attorney panel in Stamford-Norwalk for child protection cases, her obituary said. She also founded a private law practice.

Breed was admitted to the bar in the state of Connecticut in 1992, and the United States Supreme Court in 1998.

Former First Selectman Peter Tesei, who served as Greenwich's chief elected official for a record six terms from 2007 to 2019, and was the youngest member of the Representative Town Meeting at the age of 18, had a special relationship with Breed.

Breed administered the oath to Tesei for five of his six swearing-in ceremonies.

Tesei first met Breed in the fall of 1983 when he was a student at Western Junior High School. Breed was going through a reelection campaign, and Tesei requested to interview her.

"As someone who has known her for almost 40 years, she's personally very special to me as a mentor, and someone who helped cultivate my interest in Greenwich government and politics," Tesei said. "She had a profound influence on me. I don't think I would have ever gone in the direction I did had it not been for the impact she made on me."

As a first selectman, Tesei said Breed was "about accountability, she was about keeping Greenwich a town, and not shrinking from addressing some difficult issues."

First Selectman Fred Camillo mentioned Breed in his weekly email newsletter to residents.

"First Selectman Breed led Greenwich during one of the most challenging times in history, and for that, all Greenwich residents owe her a debt of gratitude," Camillo said.

Breed was first selectman when the Mianus River Bridge collapsed in June of 1983, which killed three and injured three.

Camillo told Patch that the collapse occurred before the time of email and mass communication, and people in town were angry and unfairly blamed her for the tragedy.

"History provides a better perspective to make a proper assessment of someone's record," Camillo said. "We can look back now and say Rebecca Breed was a terrific public servant."

Breed was active in many charitable and civic endeavors, her obituary said. She served on a number of boards of directors, including the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, Greenwich Country Day School, Choate Rosemary Hall, The Fresh Air Fund, Christ Church Vestry, Connecticut Judicial Review Council, Child Protection Team of Greenwich, Greenwich Advisory Council on Youth and Drugs, Merry-Go-Round, and Connecticut Board of Medical Examiners.

In 2019, Breed was awarded with the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich's Champion of Youth Award. Breed's family donated $1 million to the club's scholarship fund in 2019, which will be distributed in $100,000 scholarships over the next decade.

"Rebecca was an incredible friend to our staff, a mentor to our kids, and a stalwart of our mission," club CEO Christina Vittoria said in a news release. "She will be deeply missed, and we will be forever grateful for the impact that she has had on our Club."

Breed served as a role model and inspiration to her family, her obituary said.

"Mrs. Breed was whip-smart, relentlessly curious, ceaselessly resilient, hilariously funny, searingly witty, fiercely loyal, wildly fun, infinitely generous, wonderfully thoughtful, creatively ingenious, and wholly devoted," her obituary said. "She was unique in every sense and will be forever missed."

A celebration of her life will be held at Christ Church in Greenwich on June 22 at 11 a.m.

Read Breed's entire obituary here.