Stephen F. Frazzini – 50th Reunion Essay

Stephen F. Frazzini

129 Sedgwick Road

West Hartford, CT 06107

stevefraz@comcast.net

860-416-9540

Spouse(s): Sheila Huddleston (1976)

Child(ren): Sarah Frazzini Kendrick (1980) and Alison Frazzini (1985)

Grandchild(ren): Gabriel (2006), Lorelei (2008), Charlotte (2012) and Cecilia (2017)

Education: Yale College, BA 1969; Yale Divinity School, M.Div. 1973; Yale Law School, J.D. 1976

Career: legal services lawyer 23 years, Connecticut Superior Court judge 17 years, Connecticut judge trial referee 1+ year

Avocations: Family – especially my daughters, their husbands and their children, all my pets (9 Samoyeds, 16 cats), birding (as the rankest of amateurs), UCONN Huskies women’s basketball team, juvenile justice, child welfare

College: Davenport

For much of my time at Yale, I envisioned an academic career like that of the professors I so admired: Professors Morgan and Ahlstrom exuded such quiet excitement about the knowledge they imparted. Professor Howe encouraged and nurtured my senior thesis on John Witherspoon. But the social unrest of that time pulled me in another direction, and after Yale I first explored a religious ministry and then law trying to find if I could make any difference for people amidst the social and political turbulence around us.

For 23 years, I worked as a legal aid lawyer in New Haven and then Hartford. Sometimes I could keep people from going to jail, being evicted or losing personal care attendants and that was very fulfilling. For the last 19 years, I have served on the Connecticut trial bench, now as a retired judge trial referee, sitting in delinquency and child protection matters most recently, and this too has been personally fulfilling although every contested case does usually end with at least one unhappy person. In all this, I have cared about fairness and justice and tried to make a difference.

I was fortunate to marry a woman who has always supported me. Sheila Huddleston also attended Yale, graduating with the class of 1976, and she attended Yale Graduate School in English before also turning to law. After a career as an appellate attorney, she too became a Connecticut Superior Court judge.

Together we have raised two daughters, and their families, including two husbands, four grandchildren, two grand-dogs, and two grand-cats, bring great joy into our lives. Along the way, I have had nine Samoyeds, a breed of dog to which a college teaching assistant introduced me (“Sorry I can’t return your paper but my dog ate it”), coached and refereed youth soccer, and become a rabid UCONN women’s basketball fan (sorry Bulldogs).

Having the opportunity to attend Yale gave me many choices in life, for which I am grateful.