WETHERSFIELD - Former mayor Dan Camilliere has passed away -- leaving the Wethersfield community to mourn his loss and celebrate a long legacy of public service.

       Camilliere, a World War II veteran and former State Senator whose political career includes council tenures in both Wethersfield and Hartford councils, died on January 17.

       He was 100 years old.

       “He was larger than life -- one of those incredible human beings,” said Democratic Councilor Ken Lesser, a close friend of the family. “Very sad, but what a life.”

       It was a life, his friends and colleagues say, that was defined by an unyielding commitment to public service.

       “He personified commitment to our country and to the town,” said GOP Mayor Michael Rell. “I don’t think there was a person in Wethersfield who didn’t know Dan Camilliere, or who wasn’t touched in some way by his service. A great public servant that will be dearly missed.”

       The Hartford native and UConn pharmacy graduate enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943, deploying to Paris, where he worked at the 217th General Hospital, Camilliere’s obituary reads. As a military pharmacist, he was assigned to a medical train that transported wounded soldiers from Germany to France, according to the Dignity Memorial Tribute piece.

       Camilliere would put his expertise to work after the war, opening Rialto Pharmacy in Hartford’s South End in 1948. The store served as a critical resource to the local Italian immigrant community -- helping them to hurdle language barriers and navigate the medical system.

       “His drug store became a conduit,” says former Wethersfield Mayor Paul Montinieri, whose parents were among Camilliere’s longtime friends. “That ingrained in him the need to serve and help others.”

       Former State Rep. and current DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera’s family was among Camilliere’s many South End customers.

       “They were struggling so much back then,” Guerrera says. “Money was tight. They didn’t know anybody to turn to help navigate the system. Rialdo’s was the place to go to.”

       When Guerrera’s brother died from Leukemia -- three months before he was born -- Camilliere came to them.

       “Danny heard what happened to my brother, reached out, and said I’m here for you. Don’t worry about paying for the medication,” Guerrera says. “How do you find a person like that? He was the real epitome of humanity.”

       In his obituary, Camilliere’s family describes him as a lifelong student of government -- having taken an interest in politics at a young age. He was elected to the Hartford City Council in 1953 -- serving 10 years before making a successful run for State Senate in 1963.

       He served Hartford’s 3rd District for a pair of two-year terms before becoming Chief of the State Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Division -- he moved to Wethersfield in 1970.

       “It’s a remarkable life,” Montinieri says. “His military service, his work with the pharmacies, the state senate, and of course his local service. One hundred years is not just a marker. It really speaks to so much.”

       Camilleri was the Wethersfield Democratic Town Committee (WDTC) Secretary for 17 years, joining the Council in 1983 -- he would serve 12 years, including two terms as Mayor.

       “I was so impressed how long he served on Wethersfield Council,” said former State Senator Paul Doyle. “It isn’t an easy job, and you take a lot of criticism, but it just speaks to his commitment to Wethersfield.”

       Doyle began his political career on Wethersfield Council at the age of 28. Camilliere served alongside him as a mentor -- first, when they were in the Democratic minority, and in the two years after, with the mayor’s gavel back in hand.

       “I was a young kid and he would say, ‘Doyle go work on this’, and then give me the full credit,” Doyle says. “He was a real leader.”

       Former State House Rep Russ Morin is another ex-Wethersfield Mayor who counts Camilliere as a mentor. He says the two would talk over the phone regularly as Morin navigated difficult deliberations at the State Capitol.

       “He’d call me to check in and see how I was doing. I always kind of looked at it as friendly fatherly advice,” Morin says. “I’ll definitely miss those calls. “He touched a lot of lives over those hundred years. I was lucky he considered me a friend -- for the opportunity to learn from him.”

       Morin says the best advice he ever received was about bipartisan collaboration.

       “Sometimes when you’re doing this, you get so wrapped up you can forget about that,” Morin says. “It was his way of keeping me grounded.”

       Doyle says Camilliere’s approach to politics exemplified it.

       “Dan was kind of the go-between who would bring people together and find compromise and consensus,” Doyle said. “He was a good Democrat, but he was very practical. Get things done.”

       That was the advice he gave Lesser, who’s currently the Council’s Democratic Minority Leader.

       “He was an inspiration,” Lesser says. “I remember him telling me this past summer, ‘don’t just sit on the Council -- make your mark to help people and improve lives’.”

       Camilliere’s work for Wethersfield went beyond the Council -- he volunteered with the Veterans Committee, the Memorial Day Parade Committee, the Redevelopment Committee, and the Wethersfield High School (WHS) Renovation Project Committee.

       “Dan’s whole life is about service. Just an extraordinary human being and a great life -- all about helping others” Lesser said. “It was a gift to be in his presence. He was a spark. Full of life and energy. Just a joy to be around.”

       Friends and colleagues described Camilliere as a great storyteller and even better family man �" and his extended family grew quite large over his long lifetime.

       “They say the title of Mayor stays with you, but he really was The Mayor, with a capital T,” Rell said. “He had that respect, across the aisle.”

       “He’s the epitome of how to do it right. I can’t imagine all the lives he influenced that way,” Montinieri said. “There will never be another Danny Camilliere.”