Allan Appel file photo
Wilson Reyes reviewing his restaurant's "Porky's" specials, in 2012.
Grand Avenue booster, neighborhood real estate investor, business owner, and community champ Wilson “Porky” Reyes has now left Fair Haven. But Fair Haven has not forgotten Porky.
Reyes died at the age of 56 on Monday from complications stemming from an infected cut.
His funeral is scheduled for this Friday, June 21, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Washington Memorial Funeral Home in North Haven.
In social media posts and phone interviews, some of the many people Reyes helped over the course of his foreshortened life expressed just how much he meant to the Fair Haven community, and to New Haven at large.
“Porky touched so many people’s lives. He was such a giver, a caretaker. He was just a good, jolly soul,” said Mildred Melendez, a lifelong Fair Havener who knew Porky for more than three decades and thought of him as a “big brother.” “He was the peacemaker,” she said. “He tried to be the mediator.”
She praised him and his brother Angelo for working hard over decades to clean up and build up Grand Avenue into the vibrant commercial corridor that it is today. Porky coordinated with contractors, set up bulk trash pickup days, organized free food drives and neighborhood cleanup efforts.
When his bar Porky’s, which is now on State Street in Cedar Hill, was on Grand Avenue, “one of his employees had been really hooked on drugs. He picked him up off the street and cleaned him up” and helped him turn his life around, Melendez said. That’s just who Porky was.
Melendez and her husband helped lead a fundraiser for Porky at his bar on State Street this past Saturday. They thought they were raising money to “help him get out of some financial difficulties” he had developed due to his illness. Instead, that money wound up subsidizing the cost of burying their dear friend.
The bar was packed. People from so many different walks of life in New Haven showed up — a true testament to Porky’s wide reach.
“He really did see everybody in the neighborhood as his family,” said Fair Haven Alder Sarah Miller, who posted on Facebook earlier this week about how Reyes offered — and then helped install — a jungle gym in her family’s backyard when his kids had outgrown it.
“Fair Haven will never be the same. But we will work to carry his spirit of community-as-family forward.”
Former Fair Haven Alder Joey Rodriguez agreed. If you grew up in Fair Haven sometime in the past 30 years, Rodriguez said, “you certainly knew Porky, or of him.”
Rodriguez said he met Porky when he was growing up in Fair Haven, going to different neighborhood festivals and community management team meetings. When Rodriguez was young and volunteering on local political campaigns in Fair Haven, for former Mayor John DeStefano or for Reyes’s sister Maria, a former alder, he would see Porky everywhere.
“He treated his neighborhood as if it were his own backyard, and his residents as if they were his family,” Rodriguez recalled. “Grand Avenue was his driveway.” Everyone would recognize him driving his truck up and down the avenue, looking to help. “If he knew you, he’d pull over and chat.”
Another current Fair Haven alder, first-termer Frankie Redente, Jr., said he too grew up in the neighborhood with Porky. “He was always just a big brother to me, just an uncle, always looking out for me. … Many times in my life, he was the word of wisdom, he was the inspiration to keep me going.” Last year, Reyes worked alongside Redente as his alder campaign’s treasurer.
Redente said he and Reyes had similar backgrounds: getting in trouble in their youth in Fair Haven, turning their lives around, dedicating themselves to community service and bettering the neighborhood they love. He credited Porky and Angelo for “the rebirth of Grand Avenue years ago,” and praised Porky for keeping up that community service for the rest of his adult life.
Porky was a firm believer, Redente said, in “taking care of those around you.”
He was also a “very savvy real estate investor,” said State Rep. Juan Candelaria. “Porky took that knowledge and passed it on.” He shared his experiences and knowledge about investing in and fixing up Fair Haven real estate, and shared that to make sure that his neighbors could own and improve their own homes. “He took the time to educate,” Candelaria said, and his community loved him for it.
See here, and below, for Reyes’s full official obituary.
Wilson Reyes, 1968 - 2024
Business owner, real estate investor and philanthropist Wilson “Porky” Reyes, 56, of New Haven, CT passed away on Monday, June 17, 2024 with his loving family by his side. He was the beloved husband of Wanda Corchado. Porky was born in Middletown, CT on June 10, 1968, a son of the late José Angelo Reyes and the late Maria Maldonado.
He was a business owner of many establishments, including Porky’s Cafe and Porky’s Bail Bonds . He is also survived by four children, Crystal and Heather Reyes of New Haven, Curtis (Jessica) Ray of Guilford and Ethan W. Reyes Corchado of East Haven, three sisters, Maria Rivera of New Haven, Diana Maldonado of California and Shirley Reyes of Wallingford, one brother, Angelo (Irma) Reyes of New Haven, nine grandchildren, Sebastian, Tiannah, Daniomar, William, Alejandro, Ayden, Mason, Isaiah and Selene, and over eighteen other siblings. He also leaves behind business partners including Yari who have become family to his children and siblings, and was predeceased by his sister Denise Maldonado.
Wilson left his presence in the hearts of everyone he encountered, bringing joy, an infectious smile, and energizing life into every room he entered. No matter the occasion, Wilson’s personality would cheer you up and help you through adversity.
He was a lifelong New Haven resident that spent most of his years helping rebuild the city, and helping those in need. Wilson was an amazing person, a great father, and a loving friend who will be greatly missed.
Wilson’s family will receive relatives and friends on Friday, June 21st from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Washington Memorial Funeral Home, 4 Washington Ave., North Haven. A funeral service will take place at the funeral home during visitation time. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, Wilson’s family asks that memorial contributions in Wilson’s name be made directly to Washington Memorial Funeral Home. washingtonmemorialfh.com