By Kim J. Harmon

 

When you think about it, there must have been a posse of Frank Durante’s roaming around Newtown because – gosh – wherever you looked there he was.

On the sidelines at a football game ... behind the plate at a softball game ... taking tickets at the Newtown High School gym.

Goodness, he seemed to be everywhere.

Frank Durante passed away unexpectedly last May (a day after playing in a charity golf tournament), but his memory – and his legacy – live on in Newtown. And that is why he has been named to the Newtown Sports Hall of Fame.

Always There

“His whole life was occupied by the town,” said his son, Joe, now living in Middletown, New York. “Whether he was a freshman baseball coach, an assistant football coach or an umpire he wanted to get out of the house and be active.”

And active he was.

For years, Frank played for the Pitney Bowes slo-pitch softball team in Stamford and went to the Nationals in Williamsport, Virginia, a couple of times. Although the teams were not quite as good as that in Newtown, Frank still played.

He was also an avid golfer and could always be found in a foursome at the local charity golf tournaments. And it was there that Frank – almost legendary in this way – seemed to have the most fun when he, er, stretched the rules.

In and around Newtown High School, Frank – inspired greatly by his friend and former NHS coach Bob Zito – spent time as a freshman baseball coach, an assistant baseball coach, a freshman football coach and an assistant football coach. A few years ago, he was honored as the Ralph DeSantis Assistant Football Coach of the Year.

When he wasn’t actively coaching something, he could be found outside the gym taking tickets at a basketball game or a wrestling match.

“He loved having a good time with all the kids,” said Joe.

With his own kids, Frank was the typical sports father. He did the Little League thing with the two boys and, in the late 1980s, coached Frank Jr. through Pop Warner football and onto high school football. When his son graduated, Frank kept coaching for another six years.

“He was always around,” remembered Joe. “He was always heading out with the kids to do something. If we were playing in Little League or at the high school, he would be there.”

Frank seemed all set to carry on that same tradition with his grandkids, too. Joe has two children – Frank, 4, and Caroline, 9 months. And Frank Jr. and his wife were due to welcome their first child last week.

While spending nearly 24 years in Newtown with his wife, Donna, and two sons, Frank touched a lot of lives. When he passed away, it seemed like a thousand people had stopped by to pay their last respects.

“We were definitely saddened by his loss,” said Joe. “It was heartbreaking, but at the same time – to see all those people – it was awe-inspiring.”