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Pacos pavilion dedicated in park

Photo submitted by Dan Pacos The lower pavilion at Fredonia’s Russell Joy Park was dedicated to Roger Pacos on Aug. 21. From left are Bryson Pacos, Roger’s son, Eleanor Pacos and Fredonia Mayor Douglas Essek.

The lower pavilion at Fredonia’s Russell Joy Park was recently dedicated to Roger Pacos.

A longtime Fredonia resident and employee of the school district, Pacos had just started a term as a village trustee when he passed away in November 2020.

His brother, Pomfret Town Supervisor Dan Pacos, said this week that he was also a Russell Joy Park worker when he was younger.

“He used to maintain the pavilions,” he said. “He’d open the bathrooms, he’d sweep out. He took a lot of pride in the park.”

Soon after Roger Pacos passed, Fredonia Mayor Douglas Essek suggested naming the village trustees’ meeting room after him. Others supported the idea of honoring him but suggested the Russell Joy Park pavilion instead.

“Our family reunions were at that pavilion for many years,” Dan Pacos said.

Essek said this week he knew Roger for a number of years through family connections, and they were also presidents of Fredonia Central School District unions at the same time.

They were also volunteer firefighters together for many years.

“As he became a trustee, we became good friends. I respect him for all his civic duty,” the Fredonia mayor said. “I thought, I believed, that the village owed him some kind of remembrance.”

Essek paid for a plaque honoring Roger from the mayor’s discretionary budget line. It was dedicated Sunday, Aug. 21, at the park pavilion, with Roger’s friends and family in attendance.

“It means a lot to me and the rest of our family,” Dan Pacos said. “Rog was a great guy and he loved the village. It was neat to see the village give back and dedicate that to him.”

“He served a lot of years of public service, both elected and appointed,” Essek said.

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