A Fond Farewell to Jeff Callahan, Borough Warden
Jeff Callahan at the 2022 Fourth of July Parade in Stonington Borough
The Borough is bidding a fond farewell to its beloved warden, Jeff Callahan, who is moving to Cleveland at the end of May.
The decision wasn’t easy for Jeff who has spent the last 45 years in Stonington with his wife Lynn — a third in Old Mystic and two-thirds in the Borough. “I love this place,” he confirmed. “Leaving is very difficult but I will be 80 this year, and it’s time to be practical.” In this case, practicality means being closer to family including his son, a Cleveland resident.
When the Callahans first landed in Old Mystic, it was something out of a Rockwell painting. Their kids, aged eight and 10 at the time, walked home from school for lunch every day. Later, they moved to the Village once the children left the house and Jeff took a job at the University of Rhode Island. They were surrounded by friends, joined a line dancing group called Contra Dance and life near the water was ideal. For the Callahans, the Borough is a special place full of smart, friendly people with an exceptional quality of life.
Jeff, who served as Borough Warden for a decade, is feeling good about what he’s accomplished, though there are two projects he’d like to see completed — the public comfort stations and remediations to relieve potential flooding issues on Water Street. A new state initiative to replace the Viaduct has emerged as well, but that will be left to the town, incoming Warden Michael Schefers and the team of Burgesses to manage. Jeff feels exceptionally proud of his leadership and contributions to the community during the pandemic but knows he didn’t serve alone. He gives a lot of credit to Anne Fiore, the Borough’s administrative assistant, the Highway Department’s Susan Cordeiro and Emerson MacDonald and Jeff Hoadley, Stonington Borough’s fire chief and fire marshal who Jeff lauds as “a remarkable man.”
Kevin Rogers, Jeff Callahan & Danielle Chesebrough at the 2022 Blessing of the Fleet in Stonington Borough
Jeff Callahan at La Grua Center, May 2023
As the Callahans began the process of winding down their time in the Borough, the task of selling their home was significant – equal parts melancholy and logistics. When they listed with Switz Real Estate, mortgage rates were starting to climb but they were able to mobilize quickly and benefited from a lack of comparable homes on the market. Initially, Lisa Switz helped them get ready and Deborah Norman from Grand & Water Re-design came in to manage the staging. “I was kind of shocked by the process. Our house is full of art and books and half of it came from Grand & Water Antiques” said Jeff. “The art stayed but most of the books had to come off the shelves.” The house sold in four days.
On Saturday, April 29, the community gathered to celebrate Lynn and Jeff, the “First Couple” of the Borough. Swept up in the moment, Jeff reflected, “There are so many people, so many friends we’ll miss a lot.”
Clearly the feeling is mutual.