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“Not only for their lifetime, but they represent generations of Terranova’s involved with the Red Cross,” he said.

Terranova’s engagement with the American Red Cross was when Anne Marie Terranova started volunteering in the 1960s.

“She drove people in the Red Cross vehicle, helping them get to their dentist or doctor’s appointments or any medical need they had,” Beyer said. “The Red Cross Apple didn’t fall from the tree, and Lucian took up that mantle 20 years ago and was driving people around in Milford and joined the local board in Milford since 2000.”

Beyer said Phyllis, Lucian’s wife, is also an active volunteer with the American Red Cross, an avid blood donor and a member of the Tiffany Circle of the American Red Cross.

“You will see Phyllis here quite frequently as an ambassador welcoming our donors into this facility,” he said. “The Terranovas have been tremendous supports of the American Red Cross and have been instrumental in making this happen.”

Beyer said their daughters, Laura and Lisa, also support the American Red Cross and are active in blood donor services. They are regular blood donors themselves and advocate for blood donation.

“Lucian and Phyllis’s grandchildren are also avid blood donors and support blood to the American Red Cross,” he said. “If you look at all, they have done and the many lives they have saved over the years, it’s incredible. Not only is this facility a great legacy for them because it will continue to save lives for many years, but we also have a great deal to thank them for.”

For Laura, blood donation holds a special place in her heart because it was through blood donation that her life when she needed a transfusion.

“I was a Red Cross volunteer for 18 years before my daughter had her incident,” Lucian said. “Not once while I sat there with my daughter from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. did I wonder where the blood was coming from. I never thought there was enough for her to stay alive.”

“Be a donor if you can, and if you can’t be a donor, ask a friend to be a donor,” he added.

This event also celebrated the expansion of Red Cross services to offer platelet donation opportunities. The Red Cross only collects platelets at blood donation centers. This new facility marks the opening of the first Red Cross blood donation center in New Haven County to collect platelets and the second in the state.

Mario Bruno, CEO of the American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region, said they were thrilled to unveil the newly named Terranova Family Red Cross Blood Center to recognize a special family.

“Their remarkable contributions spanning multiple generations have inspired us all, and this remaining is a deploy meaningful gesture to honor the Terranova Family’s legacy in Milford and beyond,” he said.

Paul Sullivan, senior vice president for donor services, said he was excited to welcome everyone to the Terranova Family Red Cross Blood Donation Center.

“We all share a pride in being part of the red cross, but for me, it’s being associated with people like the Terranova Family,” he said. “Thank you for your leadership and all you have done for blood donation in Connecticut.”

Mayor Richard Smith said he learned a lot during the ceremony and promised to return to donate.

“Now that I have committed publicly, I have to do it,” he said.

Smith said that when people begin to question life’s purpose or what we are here for, he said most people, including him, boil it down to leaving the place a little better than we found it.

“The Terranova family reminds us of a life dedicated to making not only our community but our world a better place,” he said. “Congratulations. You do make the world a better place through your efforts.”

Smith shared a proclamation making June 29, 2023, the Terranova Family Day in Milford.

State Representative Kathy Kennedy (R-119) presented the Terranova Family with an official citation from the Connecticut General Assembly.

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