SEYMOUR – The legacy of Ray Necio – the late educator whose career spanned nearly four decades – will live on forever at Seymour High School.
The high school gymnasium, where Necio spent the better part of 40 years keeping score of varsity games, coaching and overseeing sports programs, is now the “Raymond M. Necio Gymnasium.”
A memorial celebration of Necio’s life was held on March 21 when the dedication of the gym became official. About 75 people turned out to remember the Class of 1966 Seymour High School graduate.
Necio passed away on November 14, 2025. Born in Derby, he spent most of his life in Seymour and Oxford before retiring to Florida in 2009.
The Seymour Board of Education unanimously approved naming the gym after Necio at a meeting on March 10, following a recommendation from both its facilities and transportation committee, along with former school board member Fred Stanek and Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis.
Necio’s brother, Mark, said he was grateful to all those responsible for helping to ensure his brother’s legacy lives on.
“It’s an honor beyond what words can describe,” Necio said. “Ray would be speechless upon hearing this news because he made Seymour High School such a big part of his life.”
Necio said his brother remained true to his beloved blue and gold Wildcat roots, long after he retired from his 38-year career in Seymour.
“I saw firsthand just how much not only the school, but the students meant to him, and he really gave his all toward the success of both,” Necio said. “In fact, the very last photograph of he and I together, taken just two weeks prior to his passing, showed him proudly wearing a Seymour High School shirt. That’s how devoted to Seymour High School and its students he was, right until the end of his life.”
During his student Wildcat days in the 1960s, Necio served as manager for both the boys high school basketball and football teams. After college, he returned to Seymour High School as a business teacher. He worked his way through the ranks, serving as assistant principal of Seymour High School, principal of the former LoPresti School, athletic director at Seymour High School, and assistant principal of Seymour Middle School, before ultimately retiring to Florida.
Former Seymour First Selectman Paul Roy, an SHS Class of ’67 graduate, was good friends with Necio from the early days of managing teams to later in life. Roy recalled that Necio was the go-to guy, always keeping on him a big set of keys he used to fill the Coke and ice machines and to access the laundry room to wash team towels.
“Ray could be compared to Radar on the TV show MASH, as he knew what Coach Joe Gesek needed before he asked for it,” Roy said via an email. “Ray knew that keys were important in life not just for doing the manager’s job but later in life to open doors of opportunity for all the students that crossed his path. His encouragement and mentoring of students was to me Ray’s legacy.”
SHS Principal Paul Lucke said Necio’s colleagues could count on his kindness and sense of humor on a daily basis.
“Anyone who worked in this building with Ray probably remembers the warning bell ringing between classes. And if you listened closely, you might hear Ray’s voice echo down the hallway saying, “we’re down to seconds, people!”
Over the years, Necio racked up many accolades, including being inducted into SHS’ Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
Lucke noted the blue and gold banner bearing the gym’s new name is a temporary vinyl banner, currently hanging on the side of the gym where SHS athletes sit for all home games. A permanent sign will be designed and hung in the gym, Lucke said. A smaller plaque will be hung at one of the gym entrance doorways.