Eunice S. Groark, who served as the state's first female lieutenant governor and enjoyed summers in Niantic, was remembered Wednesday as a leader in state government, a pioneer for women in public service and a kind and intelligent person who took pride in her Connecticut roots. Groark, 80, died Tuesday in Bloomfield.

"She was a great lieutenant governor. She was a great person," said former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. who won the 1990 election with Groark as his running mate under A Connecticut Party. "She had a huge impact on the state of Connecticut. She was a dear friend. It’s a great loss to me personally and to the state."

He called it "a very tough day" and said his thoughts are with her husband, Thomas Groark, and their three daughters.

"Eunice Groark holds an important place in Connecticut history as a woman, a state leader, and an advocate who didn't shy away from tough decisions and fought for what she believed in," Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said in a joint statement. "She was a strong and talented leader, one who helped shape Connecticut and set the foundation for work we are doing today to support our cities, invest in infrastructure, and forge stronger partnerships with business and industry." 

A native of Sharon, Conn., Groark survived the 1944 Hartford circus fire, and then at age 8 suffered the loss of her mother — tragic events that her family said "taught her strength, independence and determination." She descended from Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford, and her father was an aide to Gov. Raymond E. Baldwin.

Groark graduated from Bryn Mawr College and met her husband, a New London native, while they were both students at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Groark, a Republican, served on the Hartford City Council and later as Hartford corporation counsel, according to The Day's archives.

She then joined Weicker as he ran independently with his own party for governor in 1990.

"I think we were trying to create something new in terms of lieutenant governors. It's always been a man's world," Weicker said of choosing Groark as his running mate. "On the other hand, she was a highly intelligent woman, someone who really knew the state," and had worked as Hartford's corporation counsel.

In her tenure as lieutenant governor, she worked with Weicker on an income tax for Connecticut, as the state faced financial constraints, and she cast a "tie-breaking vote" for an assault weapon ban in 1993.

Groark then ran in 1994 for governor with Audrey Rowe, and though unsuccessful in the election, they were the first all-female ticket. 

Al Zakarian, of the law firm Day Pitney, who met the Groarks in 1965 while studying to pass the bar, said he always enjoyed being around Eunice because she was bright and upbeat.

"She was a very smart, practical woman with a wonderful sense of humor," he said.

Stanley A. Twardy Jr., partner at Day Pitney who had served as chief of staff to Weicker, called Groark a "pioneer of women in politics and public service." He said she brought a great deal of energy and caring to what she was doing and the people she met.

"She made everybody around her a better a person," he said.

Ties to southeastern Connecticut

Groark spent summers at the family's home in Old Black Point in Niantic and loved southeastern Connecticut, said Virginia Groark, her daughter and a former reporter for The Day. She volunteered at the information booth at Bank Street in New London and had recently visited Niantic, where she enjoyed a burger and was excited about the spring season.

Groark loved the people in southeastern Connecticut and felt they shared the same independent spirit she had, her daughter said. She also enjoyed the region's many small businesses, the water and scenery, and had many friends in the area.

State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, said he crossed paths with her when he was East Lyme's first selectman and they shared wonderful conversations while working on issues for Black Point Beach Club Association. He said she was always gracious and caring.

"Certainly, Connecticut has lost a true leader," he said. "Someone who worked so very hard to move the state of Connecticut forward during her time in state government."

George Mitchell, a Niantic resident and manager of Mitchell Trust, who has known Thomas Groark since high school and Eunice since the Groarks bought their summer home in Niantic, said he admired her because of all her accomplishments.

"She was a kind person," he added. "She cared about everybody and everything, and that's what made her such a great political figure, too."

Groark was also active in organizations, including the Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, where she served as board treasurer and board chair.

"She was smart, gracious and funny, and she was quick to see, comment and lead," Frogard Ryan, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Connecticut, said in a statement. "I count myself blessed, like many women in the public and private sectors, to have learned from her leadership and humility. The Nature Conservancy mourns the loss of one of its icons, one of the best and the brightest and the bravest of women who dared to lead when it was not so easy to do so."

Virginia Groark said her mother was "an incredibly strong person with the gentlest of hearts."

"She was very smart, independent and generous," she said. "She loved her family, and she loved Connecticut. She took great pride in her Connecticut roots and would pick Connecticut against any state in the nation and be confident Connecticut would come out on top. She was a wonderful mother and a fantastic grandmother and set the bar for all of us." 

Though Eunice Groark made state history as the first female lieutenant governor, her daughter said Eunice was never one to make a big deal out of being a woman and just thought of herself as an equal.

"She was never intimidated about being the only woman in the room," she said. "She felt that if you put your head down and worked hard you could achieve anything regardless of your gender."

k.drelich@theday.com