Gregory Lee Premo

Gregory Lee Premo, known to all who loved him as Greg, passed away on June 21, 2026, in Louisville, Kentucky, following a brief illness. He was 85 years old. Born on July 4,1940 in Medford, Massachusetts, Greg arrived in this world on Independence Day, and he spent the rest of his life living with a spirit that was every bit as bold, generous, and celebratory as that birthday might suggest.

Greg was the product of two strong parents – Elmer Premo and Mary Eleanor Murphy Clare, Greg grew up alongside his brothers Robert, Paul, and Jerome, learning early that family was everything. His upbringing in Whitman was humble but full of laughter, music, and the kind of joyful exuberance that would define all his days. The boys were always into something and the stories he told of this time were worthy of 1950s cinematic lore. Greg was especially into sports; he was an excellent football, basketball, and baseball player – and he even taught his little brother how to bunt!

The Redwood Years: Hospitality and Santa

In his senior year of high school, Greg’s family relocated to Burlington, Vermont, where his parents purchased a motel lodge and coffee shop. It was in Vermont that Greg not only planted his adult roots but where his interest in people blossomed into a lifelong calling.

Immediately after graduating from his beloved University of Notre Dame in 1962, Greg returned to Vermont to work as his father's assistant manager at the Redwood Best Western. He threw himself into the grit of the business—overseeing scheduling, staffing the front desk, and eventually managing all the finances.

By the 1980s Greg purchased the Redwood from his parents and went on to extensively renovate the Redwood, expand the restaurant and bar and bring the classic, but dated motor lodge into a new era of hospitality. The annual Breakfast with Santa was especially wonderful: Greg would step into the suit himself to ask children about their lives, their dreams, and their families rather than what gifts they wanted.

Greg was a leader in Vermont’s tourist business and served his hometown of South Burlington as an elected town councilman. It made perfect sense that he would listen to people’s concerns and then make things better!

A Second Calling: The Episcopal Conference Centers

In 1994 Greg sold the Redwood and began the second chapter of his career with The Episcopal Church as Director of the Bishop Booth Conference Center on Lake Champlain. During the interview for this position a board member asked if he was "flexible"; Greg famously stood up, literally flexed his arms and legs, and sat back down. He got the job the next day. Greg spent six successful years there.

His success in Vermont caught the attention of the Trinity Center in Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina where Greg took the helm in 2000 of a massive operation with 45 full-time employees. His tenure there proved his steady leadership through intense times, managing a massive summer camp, initiating a Roads Scholar Program, and successfully navigating two major hurricanes that devastated this small island town.

In 2009, Greg accepted his final major professional challenge: serving as the Director of All Saints Episcopal Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky. In this last role before retirement, he led the Center through a series of natural disasters and enlisted assistance from universities across Kentucky to support the Center.

When Greg retired from the conference center ministry in September 2010, he left behind an extraordinary legacy that blended sharp business acumen with a pastor's heart for gracious hospitality.

A Life Savored

But Greg was far more than his professional accomplishments. It was not only what he did but how Greg went about his life that made him the remarkable man he was. He was always about people and how each individual is a true difference maker – and a potential source for another story for this unmatched storyteller!

He married his first wife, Diane and mother to his two sons Greg Jr. and Chris, in his early years, and though the marriage ended in divorce, their time together remained a meaningful chapter in his story.

In 1973, Greg married Polly, with whom he shared 36 years of love. Together they had Jeanette, Greg’s third and final child. Greg and Polly faced unimaginable challenges but also unimaginable joys. Polly’s prolonged battle with breast cancer, which she fought with extraordinary courage, was a test of their faith and optimism. When Polly passed away in 2009, Greg often said that the world lost some of its music, but he honored her spirit by continuing to love as she would have wanted.

And love indeed did find Greg one more time in the form of Alice Covell Premo, who became his cherished wife and companion in Louisville in 2013. Together they shared a beautiful partnership that reminded everyone who knew them that the heart's capacity for love only grows with age. Their marriage was one of compassion, fantastic adventures, hours of stories and laughter and a deep mutual respect.

Greg’s children Greg Premo Jr., and Jeanette Sassatelli and his son Chris Premo who pre-deceased him were his pride and joy. Greg was everything you could ask for in a father. Kind, generous with his advice, a patient listener, a compassionate moderator, always, always, always there at the other end of the phone. Greg delighted in their accomplishments, supported them through their struggles, and rejoiced in their laughter and resilience. He found even greater joy if possible, in being an active part of his three grandchildren’s lives even from the distance, of Louisville to New England. Connor, Cole and Andrea – your grandfather loved you absolutely unconditionally in every way.

Greg volunteered tirelessly at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, the Crescent Hill Garden Club, the Notre Dame Club of Louisville and the Lions Club of Louisville, fiercely believing in the words of Hebrews 13:2: "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." He lived that scripture daily.

Survival and Services

Greg is survived by his wife, Alice Covell Premo of Louisville, Kentucky; his son, Greg Premo and wife Gail; his daughter, Jeanette Sassatelli and husband John; his stepchildren Monica Mohoney and Michael Mohoney; his brother, Jerry Premo and wife Peggy Catron; his grandchildren Connor, Cole and Andrea and great grandchildren Lila and Rowan. He also was a special uncle to many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Polly, his first wife Diane, his parents, his son Chris and his brothers Robert and Paul.

Funeral services will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Louisville, Kentucky, at 4 pm on July 1st with visitation at the church starting at 2 pm and a reception to follow afterwards. Should you feel so moved, contributions in his memory may be given to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church or the Lions Club of Louisville.

An additional service will be held in Richmond, Vermont on Saturday, August 22nd.

Greg would have wanted it exactly that way—surrounded by the people he loved, in the place where he gave so much of himself, with good food, rich conversation, and, if someone feels moved to do so, a little dancing.

Please take a moment to celebrate this good, wonderful man.