Victor Courdert: 1926-2009

There are some people in our lives who embody values like dignity, integrity and compassion – all the things that are good – and they’re powers of example for the rest of us. Vic Coudert, a lifelong Greenwich resident who served on the ethics board for 42 years, was one of them.

I knew Victor from the mid-1970s, when I taught his children English grammar and theology at Greenwich Catholic Middle School, and over the years a lastly friendship developed, especially when I was editor of Greenwich Time and he was in town government.

A gentle and honest man, Victor never hesitated to tell me when the paper had made an error, but was always gracious in that role – even though I sensed he secretly delighted in having one up on the editor. Once, I even recall he called to tell me we had mistakes in a story about Frank Trotta, my colleague in Ourgreenwich.com. With both of them double-teaming me, I knew it was a losing battle. But they were gracious and I was a better person for it.

On many more occasions, Victor and I would have lunch with Greenwich scribe Bernie Yudain, and the two of them would offer me their insights into community journalism. Victor was a spiritual man, and for more than 21 years, he regularly went to Lourdes, the apparition site of the Blessed Mother, where many miracles and healings have occurred. He helped countless people with physical and spiritual disabilities and always encouraged me to make a pilgrimage with him.

When I left the newspaper, he was there, offering advice and encouragement. He even reviewed my resume with suggestions about how to improve it, but most importantly, he told me about the time when, as a middle-aged man, he had to make a change in his career.

“You can do it,” he said. “I did it. It’s not the end of the world.” He was right.

You can’t buy friendship like that. And when you find it, you have to cherish. He and Virginia were two of the most gracious people I’ve known.

Victor, I’ll miss you.