Cleon Leonard Springer

Cleon Leonard Springer passed away on October 27, 2023. He was born in Hillaby, St. Andrew, Barbados on November 18, 1936 to Geraldine Springer and Dickson Dial. Cleon’s father was a musician who passed away before he was three.

As a child, the educational opportunities available to Cleon in a British colony were limited. His family was not able to afford to send him to high school. He had done some electrical work in Barbados, but he looked abroad for opportunities to better his life.

In 1958, Cleon got an opportunity to come to the United States as a migrant worker, cutting sugar cane for US Sugar in Florida. On arriving in Florida, Cleon was confronted by Jim Crow, as he and his fellow laborers had to get food from segregated lunch counters.

Cutting sugar cane by hand is physically demanding work, and Cleon distinguished himself from other workers through his productivity. After completing six months in Florida, he moved on to work on tobacco farms in the Connecticut River Valley.

Upon finishing his contract, Cleon’s beloved cousin, George Iflil, helped him get situated in the US and got him his first car, a 1952 Ford.

Cleon, the man from Barbados, made Connecticut his home. For much of his adult life, he worked three jobs. His “main job” was at R.R. Donnelley’s Publishing in Old Saybrook. He worked there for 40 years in several roles. For over 30 years, he worked at Essex Machine Shop, where he made boat parts from zinc.

His favorite job was working as a Constable in his hometown of Deep River, CT, which he did for 36 years. In 1986, Cleon and a state trooper rescued two children from a house fire.

Cleon was part of the Deep River community. He was a member of the Deep River Baptist Church and the Republican Town Committee. In 1974, Cleon was nominated to run for Middlesex County Sheriff. He did not win that race.

Cleon was married twice. The first union was to Blanche Elizabeth Esannason, which produced daughters Cynthia Jean (deceased) and Donna Renee Springer. Cleon’s second marriage to Antoinette (Thomas) Springer, produced a son, Cleon Robert Springer.

For the past 35+ years, Cleon’s companion in life was Simone Morin.

Cleon leaves behind two brothers, Roy Niles of Boston, MA and Chester Niles of Pittsfield, MA, three grandchildren (Candice White, Siobhan Springer, and Caden Witt), two great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and extended family members in the US, Barbados, and England.

A memorial service will be held for Cleon at Robinson, Wright, and Weymer Funeral Home on November 18, 2023 from 11 - 1pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Kidney Foundation in his honor https://support.kidney.org/ A repass will be held afterwards at the Deep River Baptist Church.