LoPresti
SEYMOUR – Whether you knew him as Mr. LoPresti, Tony, or the ‘best principal ever,’ Anthony LoPresti is being remembered as one of Seymour’s most beloved educators.
LoPresti passed away on Monday (Dec. 9) at age 89. He is best known for serving as Seymour High School’s principal for 23 years before retiring in 1993.
The Valley Indy reached out to Seymour residents past and present to get an idea of what LoPresti meant to the town.
Seymour Selectman Fred Stanek was a sophomore at SHS when LoPresti was appointed principal. Stanek was co-editor of his class yearbook and had frequent interactions with LoPresti.
“He was always there to assist me with whatever issue needed to be addressed,” Stanek told the Valley Indy via an email. “I would also discuss with him my thoughts about expanding course offerings at the high school and how I thought the school could be improved. He may not have always liked what a nerdy high school student had to say, but he listened. Mr. LoPresti cared about every student as if he or she was his own child. He was an icon in our community who will be missed.”
Former Seymour Middle School teacher Pam Finkle had LoPresti as a teacher in 1963, and later as her principal. Finkle taught several of LoPresti’s sons in her class at SMS over the years.
“This man was very important in my life,” Finkle said. “He was my geography/civics teacher in 1963, the year President Kennedy was assassinated. That was hard on all of us. But he always had a smile and a hug. The greatest joy was having several of his sons as my students. That was one of the best parts of teaching in my hometown.”
A Boston native, LoPresti moved to Seymour in 1961, when he put his bachelor’s degree from Boston College to work, landing his first teaching job as a social studies teacher at what was originally known as Seymour Junior High School.
LoPresti and his late wife Catherine raised six sons, and were grandparents to 12 grandchildren and great grandparents to two great grandchildren. After retirement from SHS, LoPresti remained active in the school and the community, coaching youth sports, and recreation programs. He sat on several town boards and was instrumental in establishing the Seymour High School Athletic Hall of Fame, of which he served as committee chairman.
In 2017, LoPresti was honored for his years of public service with the Kennedy-Pawlak Award – an award given out by the Seymour Democratic Town Committee to someone who embodies the qualities and spirit of President John F. Kennedy and former Seymour First Selectman Paul Pawlak.
Sisters Themis Klarides and state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria hold fond memories of LoPresti from their blue and gold glory days as Seymour Wildcats.
“Mr. LoPresti made a difference in so many lives, and his legacy as an educator, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend will live on in our hearts,” said Klarides-Ditria.
Klarides-Ditria (and yours truly) also recalled back in 1986 when they painted the infamous blue and gold school rock at SHS, they got in a little bit of trouble with LoPresti after being caught because they signed their handiwork with their initials.
“We got in trouble, but he was really a gentle giant,” Klarides-Ditria recalled.
Themis Klarides said she remembers a certain look she and her best friend, Alice, would get from LoPresti, especially if they got in trouble for talking too much in class or painting the school driveway.
“When he looked at you with that look, you knew you were in trouble,” Klarides quipped.
The Ralph E. Hull Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Friends and family are invited to greet the LoPresti family from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15 at the funeral home, 161 W. Church St. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Dec. 16 at the Church of the Good Shepherd (St. Nicholas Parish), 135 Mountain Rd., Seymour. Interment will follow in Mt. Meadows Cemetery, Seymour.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Anthony and Catherine LoPresti Family Scholarship Fund at the Valley Community Foundation, 253‑A Elizabeth Street, Derby, CT 06418 or online at Valleyfoundation.org/ search for LoPresti Scholarship Fund.
Click here for more information about the LoPresti Scholarship Fund.
Online condolences can be left on the funeral home website.
(P.S. As a former SHS Class of ’86 graduate myself, Mr. LoPresti was a kind and caring man who garnered respect, was tough when he had to be and fun when it counted, especially when he took me for a spin on the dance floor at our senior class night/banquet circa 1986!)
