Edmund Robert Gregan

Edmund Robert “Bob”, Gregan 81, of Northford, CT, passed on Wednesday January 31 in Hospice of Branford after a well-fought battle against lymphoma. Born on February 4, 1936 in New Haven, Conn., Bob was the son of the late Edmund Arthur Gregan and Elizabeth Kochiss Gregan.

A graduate of Wilber Cross High School, he received his Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture from The Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I.  In 1962, Bob returned to his hometown later becoming the Chief Landscape Architect for the City of New Haven until he retired on April 3, 1991. For over 30 years, many of the trees planted in the city were located and selected by him. This earned him international recognition as a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects (FSLA). Bob was also on the board of the Grove Street Cemetery, the first chartered burial ground in the United States.

Bob was incredibly detail oriented in everything he did. He loved people and was a fair man who treated everyone the same. He was relentless when undertaking any task, earning the nickname “Bull” from many of his college friends.

Bob was a long-time resident of North Branford and was the former chairman of the Land Trust and Conservation Commission. He was extremely active in the design of many municipal sites including parks, open spaces and the town center. 

Bob now joins his beloved wife of 48 years, Janet Shaw Gregan. He leaves behind his son Edmund R. Gregan II and his wife Sandra, his daughter Darianne Sidera and her husband Louis and his daughter Christyn Godfrey and her husband Scott. He also leaves seven loving grandchildren, Emylee Sidera, Edmund Robert Gregan III (Ned), Oliver S. Gregan, Tessa Sledge and her husband Tom, Ethan Godfrey, Shawn Godfrey and Louis Sidera IV (Mack). He is survived by his brother Eugene Gregan and family of Napanoch, N.Y. and his sister-in-law Ruth S. Neville and family of Barrington, R.I. He also leaves behind his companion Vuokko Munsill of Killingworth, Conn.

Calling hours will be held on Monday February 5, 2018, from 4-7 PM at the Keenan Funeral Home on 330 Notch Hill Road in North Branford, Conn.   

Bob requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the North Branford Land Trust, P.O. Box 378, North Branford, CT 06471-0378 or the Totoket Historical Society, 1 Library Place, North Branford, CT 06471, to be put towards the maintenance of the Janet S. Gregan Memorial Clock on the grounds of the Atwater Memorial Library. A private interment will held at a later date.

“A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself, but for prosperity” Alexander Smith 

 Service Information