A Tribute To WWII Plane Crash Victim Gary Mazzone

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Gary Mazzone was known affectionately as "Big Gar." A University of Connecticut graduate, he was a police captain and spent two decades as an inspector for the state's attorney's office.

Mazzone, 66, was one of the seven people who died in the crash of a vintage World War II bomber at Bradley International Airport Wednesday morning. Mazzone and 12 others were aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress and the pilot took off at 9:48 a.m. Five minutes later, problems were reported aboard the craft and the pilot crashed while trying to land. Six people survived; some are still in critical condition.

Mazzone was a father, grandfather, justice of the peace, vice president of the Class of 1971 at East Windsor High School and a lifelong East Windsor resident. He was also a writer, having authored the East Windsor chapter of the recently-released book "The Connecticut 169 Club: Your Passport and Guide to Exploring Connecticut," a guide to the state’s 169 towns, all written by local experts.

Mazzone earned degrees in forestry and criminal justice, and graduated from the FBI National Academy. As Vernon police captain, he was the field operations director for police services for the 55-member department. He began his career as a police officer in 1976 and over the years served as a lieutenant, sergeant, detective and patrolman, according to his LinkedIn profile.

In 1998, Mazzone retired after serving 20 years and took a post as an inspector for then-Chief State's Attorney John M. Bailey. Mazzone just recently retired after more than two decades working for the State’s Attorney’s Office for Litchfield County.

“It’s an incomprehensible tragedy,” recently retired County State’s Attorney David Shepack was quoted as saying.

Mazzone had five children: daughter Maureen, sons Brian and Dan, and step-daughters Stacey and Kim.

In a tribute to his father, Brian Mazzone wrote on Facebook he was "heartbroken."

Brian Mazzone, an English teacher at Enfield High School, is also the head coach of the Stafford-Somers-East Windsor football tri-op. Mazzone posted on Facebook Wednesday night to speak to his team and their families about his dad.

"My father, Gary died this morning in a plane crash at Bradley Airport. My dad followed our athletics our entire lives. But I don’t think anything ever gave my dad as much joy as following the Bulldogs. Whether he was telling me to, 'tell these damn lineman to block,' (or) 'tell Lajoie to throw the freaking ball,' (or) 'the Russotto boys have been lifting hard,' or my personal favorite, 'I'm gonna tell ______ dad to shut the hell up real soon during the games.' He was (at) almost every game, postgame meeting, banquet, and he’d even stop in for practice. He also developed so many wonderful relationships with so many of you great people. He truly did care about you and your sons. I'm heartbroken. Thank you all for all the kind things you’ve reached out and said. My dad will always be a Bulldog."

Brian Mazzone said his father was a good man, always ready to lend a hand — a generous, caring man.

"Chances are if you knew my dad, you liked him. Big Gar was always the life of the party, would do anything to help, was funny, caring and man, he had a damn good Stache. I’m just so sad my boys won’t get to grow up with him."

Tim Jensen/Patch contributed reporting.

Mazzone's obituary and photograph was provided by Carmon Windsor Funeral Home.

We are sad to announce the passing of Gary L. Mazzone, 66, of Broad Brook due to a tragic airplane accident. He was born in East Windsor to Ethel and Pasquale Mazzone and lived most of his adult life in the area. Gary lived with a thirst for knowledge, a smile that could light up a room, a sense of humor that made everyone laugh and a caring way that made even the most distant stranger feel like his friend. He was proud of his degree in Forestry at Paul Smith College in New York and then went on to obtain his undergraduate degree from The University of Connecticut. His career took him down the path of law enforcement. He retired as a Captain of the Vernon Police Department after 22 years of service. During this time, he was selected to attend and graduated from the FBI National Academy. He then worked an additional 20 years for the State of Connecticut, Division of Criminal Justice, where Gary recently retired as an Inspector. He loved spending time at his second home in upstate New York where he enjoyed hunting, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, and riding on his ATV. He was also an avid history buff who had extensive knowledge about World War ll and his hometown of East Windsor. Gary's passion in life was spending time with his family. He was so proud of his three children, Daniel, Brian and Maureen. Through the years he shared his love of the outdoors with them, attending sporting events, fishing with them on the Scantic River, and testing them on nature walks by identifying names of trees. Gary and Brian shared a strong bond through his Bulldogs football team. He was extremely proud of his son, Daniel and his decorated military career. He was happy to spend time with his daughter "Mo" whether it was snowshoeing through the woods, helping her work on her house or just sitting and talking. In 1998, he married his wife Joan, and together they shared an active and adventurous life. They shared the love of the outdoors and took vacations that most people would never think of going nor could find on a map. Gary had so much love to give and he shared it with Joan's daughters, Stacy and Kim who became his own. Gary and Joan spent their lives around their seven grandchildren who affectionately called Gary their "Bepa". Together, they enjoyed vacationing, spending holidays together and attending all the kids' activities. Gary was thrilled when his children had their kids and he became "Bepa" to all five of them. Gary and Joan loved to attend all their sporting events and Gary taught them to fish, build woodworking projects and be the class clown. Gary was predeceased by his mother Ethel. He leaves behind his father, Pasquale "Pop" Mazzone of Riverview, FL, the love of his life, Joan of Broad Brook, his son Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Mazzone and his wife Lori of New Brockton, AL with their children, Austin, Jackson, and Mary, his son Brian Mazzone and wife Kelly of Enfield with their sons Brodie and Brock, his daughter Maureen Rosa and her husband Daniel of Fairfield with their future child, his daughter Kimberly Bourbeau of Vernon and her children, Zachary, Olivia, and Colton, his daughter Stacy Lanata and her husband Steven of Glastonbury and their children, Brendan, Julianna, Isabella and Francesca and his sister, Lynn Mcalees and her husband George of Riverview, FL. Gary also leaves behind his "girls", his beloved dogs Brooke and Molly who loved to go for rides in his truck to get their munchkins at Dunkin Donuts. A celebration of Gary's life will be held at Maneeley's Banquet and Catering at 65 Rye Street, South Windsor on Monday, October 14th from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. To honor Gary's memory, please hug your family members, tell them how much you love them, help your neighbors, talk to friends and reach out to the elderly. This is what defines us in life. In lieu of flowers, you may contribute to a charity of your choice that will impact the environment.

The Carmon Windsor Funeral Home is caring for the arrangements.

For directions for condolences please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com