By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Mayor Dorinda Borer joined Theresa “Terry” Carr to unveil a blue-and-white vinyl sign christening “The Joe Carr Boardwalk Maintenance Garage” after her late husband in Old Grove Park on April 30.
Accompanied by an array of more than 50 Department of Public Works employees and other city workers, Borer dedicated the maintenance garage and sign at the shoreline bathhouse in honor of Carr, who worked for the department as a laborer and driver from Jan. 17, 1977, until his death on Jan. 20 at age 71.
The sign features a symbolic string trimmer, Carr’s tool of choice.
Borer delivered words of praise about the hardworking Carr in front of loved ones and friends, along with former and current supervisors and colleagues.
“Joe was the love of my life,” Terry Carr said. “He would be so proud of this dedication.”
Joe Carr, a Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War, was known for taking tremendous pride in his meticulous care of the Savin Rock and Bradley Point beach areas, including the Veterans Walk of Honor.
The 100-yard Walk of Honor on Long Island Sound is bedecked with thousands of bricks inscribed to veterans, both living and deceased, as well as an arsenal of monuments to wars and veterans.
“Nobody worked harder than Joe, and no one took more pride in taking care of the area,” said former Public Works Commissioner Beth A. Sabo, who led the department from 2003 to 2013.
A self-described “true animal lover,” Carr was born in 1953 and raised at “the Rock,” the nickname of the Savin Rock section of West Haven during its amusement park heyday.