Published January 29. 2021 5:08PM
Preston Parke’s Place once stood on Route 12 near the Mohegan-Pequot Bridge, where former First Selectman Parke Spicer would welcome workers stopping for breakfast or fishermen and hunters catching an early morning coffee before heading out to streams and woods.
Soon, the section of Route 12 from the bridge south to the Ledyard town line could bear the name of the longtime political leader, civic volunteer and former Navy cook who loved to show off his culinary skills.
Spicer, 83, died Jan. 8 from pneumonia caused by COVID-19.
State Rep. Mike France, R-Ledyard, whose district includes Preston, said former Ledyard Mayor Joseph Lozier asked that the portion of Route 12 in Preston be named in honor of Spicer. France, state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, who also represents Preston, and state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes Ledyard, co-sponsored the bill to do so.
Parke Spicer, 83, who served as first selectman from 1983 to 1995 and held numerous other town positions, died Jan. 8 of pneumonia brought on by COVID-19,