Remembering Judge Alan Nevas

Judge Alan Nevas — member of a prominent Westport family, a towering presence in Connecticut legal circles for over half a century, and a 3-term member of the state House of Representatives — died yesterday at his home here surrounded by his family, after a brief struggle with lymphoma. He was 97.

Nevas was born in Norwalk. He was a 1945 graduate of Stamford High School, and was later inducted into its Hall of Fame.

He received a BA from Syracuse University in 1949, and a Bachelor of Laws from New York University School 2 years later.

He was in private practice in Westport from 1951 to 1981, except for 3 years in the Army as a sergeant first class (1952 to ’54). 

Judge Alan Nevas

Inspired by a visit to Westport by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the summer of 1964, Nevas traveled to Mississippi to represent, pro bono, civil rights activists who had been arrested. 

He was elected to the Westport Board of Finance, serving one term as chair. He was elected 3 times to the Connecticut House of Representatives. He served from 1971 to 1977, including 2 terms as a deputy leader.

Nevas was also a justice of the peace in Westport from 1976 to 1981. He served on the boards of numerous organizations that were important to him, including Norwalk Hospital and the Jewish Home for the Elderly in Fairfield.

In 1981, President Reagan appointed Nevas as US Attorney for the District of Connecticut. He served until 1985, when Reagan named him to the US District Court for the District of Connecticut. 

After confirmation by the US Senate he served until his retirement in 2009, having assumed senior status in 1997. During his tenure, his colleagues elected him as president of the Federal Judges Association.

Following retirement from the federal bench, Judge Nevas once again entered private practice, primarily as a highly sought after arbitrator and mediator.

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell selected him to chair the state’s investigation into causes of the deadly 2010 explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, and to chair the committee that allocated $7.7 million in funds to families impacted by the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown.

Judge Nevas was a lifelong fan of the New York Giants, through good and mostly bad times. He and his wife Janet were world travelers, visiting all 7 continents.  They enjoyed socializing with their many friends, trips to Manhattan for dining and culture, and summers on Martha’s Vineyard with their extended family.

In 2021, at 93, he was the oldest runner among nearly 1,200 in the traditional Chilmark Road Race on Martha’s Vineyard. He completed the hilly 3.1-mile course, in hot weather, in 1:08.37.6.

Judge Alan Nevas (Photo courtesy of WestportNow)

Nevas was married to Janet for nearly 66 years. They met in 1958 when he saw her across the room at a resort in New Hampshire, and asked her to dance. 

She survives him, as do their children, Andrew (Jodie) Nevas of Westport, Debra Nevas (Jonathan Abrams) of Short Hills, New Jersey, and Nathaniel (Leslie Radel) of Wilton. He is also survived by grandchildren Zachary, Chloe, Maxwell and Adam Nevas, and Alexa and Seth Abrams; sister Dorothy Freedman of Westport, sister-in-law Judith Broudy; nieces and nephews Janet Freedman, Susan Filan, Ellen Wilner, Joshua Broudy and Matthew Broudy, and numerous cousins. He was predeceased by his brothers-in-law Charles Broudy and Frederick Freedman.

Funeral services will take place at Temple Israel on Tuesday (April 22, 10 a.m. (livestreamed at tiwestport.org), followed by burial at the Independent Hebrew Cemetery in Norwalk.  For more information and to share a condolence message, click here.

Contributions in Judge Nevas’ memory may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Mozaic Senior Life or the Westport Library.