John Margenot

John Margenot died on Monday, 12 October 2026, at the age of 98. The place and cause of his death were not made public.

The Town of Greenwich announced his death, and First Selectman Fred Camillo issued a statement on 13 October calling him one of the town's longest serving and most dedicated public officials. Camillo wrote that Margenot set a new standard for what a first selectman can be, called him an ardent guardian of the town and a mentor to many in town government, and said his career was more than matched by his warm smile and unmistakable laugh. Camillo recalled that Margenot had nominated him for his first run for First Selectman in 2019 and asked residents to keep the family in their thoughts. Funeral arrangements had not been announced at the time of the statement.

John B. Margenot Jr. grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. He attended Mason Street School, Havemeyer School and Greenwich High School, where he was a class president.

As a boy during World War II he and his friends volunteered as enemy plane spotters, taking two-hour shifts on weekends at the top of the old Greenwich Town Hall, the building that later became the Greenwich Senior Center. Years later he joked that this meant he had started out at the top in town.

He served in the United States Army and was stationed in Japan. After returning home he studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and trained as an engineer.

Margenot joined his family's business, where he handled the real estate side, and worked as an engineer before entering town politics. Former First Selectman Peter Tesei said his involvement began because he wanted a new sidewalk installed on Valley Road.

He served on the Representative Town Meeting from 1959 to 1969. After a break to help raise his children, he joined the Board of Estimate and Taxation and its budget committee from 1979 to 1981. He was then recruited to run for selectman and sat on the Board of Selectmen from 1981 to 1985, serving alongside First Selectmen Rebecca Breed and Roger Pearson.

In 1985 he became First Selectman, the town's chief elected official, and was re-elected four times, serving until 1995. Five terms was then a record, later matched and broken by Tesei. Among the decisions of his tenure, Tesei singled out the major investment in the Grass Island wastewater treatment plant, which he credited with protecting public health and the waters of Long Island Sound. In 1986 Margenot swore in a new police officer named James Heavey, who later became Greenwich's chief of police.

After leaving office he continued to serve as a volunteer and spent nine years on the Greenwich Board of Ethics, for which the town honored him in 2021.

Margenot lived in Cos Cob with his wife, Dolly. They had five children, among them Richard Margenot and Hilary Griffin.

In retirement he was a familiar volunteer at Greenwich Hospital and also gave his time to the YMCA, Hill House and the Old Timers' Athletic Association. Friends spoke of frequent golf outings, and colleagues remembered him as a gentleman who said what was on his mind, but with the delivery of a mentor rather than a critic.

In November 2017 the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to name the atrium of the Public Safety Complex, which links the police and fire headquarters at 11 Bruce Place, in his honor. The John Margenot Atrium was dedicated on 8 September 2018 before more than 100 people. The town uses it as a cooling center, a warming center and a place to seek help in a crisis.

Tesei called him a legend in the Greenwich community and the man who set the standard for those who followed. His decade as First Selectman, his years on the town's financial and legislative boards and his long volunteer service made him one of the defining public figures of modern Greenwich.