Category Archives: Obituaries

Death on H. William “Bill” Ryan Announced; Old Lyme Resident for Almost 30 Years

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Hubert William “Bill” Ryan

OLD LYME, CT / TUCSON, ARIZ. —Hubert William (“Bill”) Ryan passed away on Saturday, September 21, 2019. He was surrounded by his family, including his wife of 67 years, Emily, and his four children, Peg, Mike, Suzanne, and Pat, at his home in Tucson, Arizona.

Bill was born in New London, Connecticut to Hubert William Ryan and Marguerite Boylan Ryan in July of 1928. Bill was predeceased by his youngest sister, Mary Carlin Hall of Mystic, Connecticut and is survived by his younger sister, Sarah Mary Ryan, of New London, Connecticut. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Bill graduated from the Bulkeley School in New London in 1946. Proud to be a “Bulkeley Boy”, he faithfully attended many of the annual school reunions on the first Friday in August until his last one in 2016.

He enlisted in the Army in 1947 and served in Okinawa, Guam and Shanghai, China. In 1949 he joined the US Air National Guard where he served on bases in the US and overseas, including Alabama, Korea, Nevada, Germany, England, and Saudi Arabia. He remained in the military until 1984 when he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with 38 years of service.

As a young man, he worked for the family owned Redden & Ryan Insurance Company in downtown New London for 16 years starting in 1949. Emily and Bill were married in 1952, and they raised their family in Old Lyme, Connecticut where they lived for almost 30 years. In the mid-1970s, they moved to Andrews Air Force base in Maryland and eventually retired to central Florida. There, they ran a small computer consulting business and enjoyed their world travels. After 23 years in Florida, they moved to Tucson, Arizona where they found great wine tasting friends but no tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes.

In retirement, Bill and Emily traveled the world and spent many happy hours together planning each trip. They helped restore a medieval village and castle, La Sabranenque, located at Saint Victor la Coste in southern France, built a home for Habitat for Humanity on the island of Vanuatu off the east coast of Australia and helped release red foxes and black footed ferrets into the wild in Montana. They visited France, Mexico, Peru (the Amazon and Machu Pichu), Greece, Ireland, Germany, England, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Portugal, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Canada, New England, California, the San Juan Islands in Washington, Copper Canyon in Mexico, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Morocco. Sometimes, a selection of children and grandchildren were invited on these unforgettable journeys.

Our husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather leaves us a legacy of living up to our word and helping people in need. His word was his bond. If he said it, he would do it. We will always keep him in our hearts, and we will strive to live up to his example.

Death of Mariette Elizabeth Hogan Announced, Mother of WFSB News Anchor Kevin Hogan

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Mariette Gauvin Hogan 1926-2019

Mariette Elizabeth Hogan

Our Mom lived her 93 years of life with faith in GOD and for her loving family. She died suddenly the morning of Thursday, August 15, 2019 at home on the Feast of the Assumption. Her energy and enthusiasm never wavered.

Born in Quebec and raised in Hamden, Mariette graduated from Hamden High and worked for a New Haven Insurance company prior to meeting Army Veteran, Dan Hogan. They married on May 28, 1949 in Hamden and celebrated their 70th anniversary together this spring along with her four boys and their families.

While Mariette was a mother, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother to her family for 48 years, she was also known to hundreds of students and faculty at Assumption School in Ansonia as Mrs. Hogan, the school’s first secretary. She enjoyed life and volunteering; Assumption Church, Cub Scout Pack 19 Den mother, The Red Hat Society, Dancing lessons with Dad, Cruises to Alaska, The Caribbean and day trips.

Mom worked hard at making her home welcoming to family and friends whether creating a full Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner or just cheese and crackers. If you popped in unannounced she would be the first to offer cookies in the cookie jar.

As we begin to celebrate her long life and contributions to everyone she encountered, we know she is reunited now with her parents, Ernest and Marguerite Gauvin; brothers, Lucien and Raymond Gauvin and other loved ones.

Mariette leaves behind her beloved Dan; sons, David (Pat), Mark, John, and Kevin; grandchildren, David (Danielle), Stephen (Danielle), Shawn, Christopher, Carina, Ryan (Danielle), Meredith, Taylor, and Connor Hogan; great grandchildren; Michaela, David, Ava, Devyn, Brooklyn Hogan, and Anja Czaja; and sister, Jeannine Gauvin Saller (Bill), as well as nieces and nephews.

A Wake to celebrate Mariette’s life will take place Monday, August 19, 2019, from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at the Wakelee Memorial Funeral Home, 167 Wakelee Avenue, Ansonia. A Mass of Christian Burial (Meeting Directly at Church) will be held on Tuesday, August 20, 2019, 10:00 am in the Church of the Assumption, 61 North Cliff Street Ansonia. Interment will follow in All Saints Cemetery, North Haven.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Assumption School, Ansonia. Online condolences may be made at www.wakeleememorial.com.

To send flowers to the family of Mariette Hogan, please visit Tribute Store

Death Announced of Joan K. Kelley of Lyme; Memorial Service to be Held in Old Lyme, Sept. 7

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JOAN K. KELLEY 
1942-2019

Joan Kelley and Sophie.

Joan K. Kelley, 77, of Lyme, Connecticut passed away peacefully on July 23rd, 2019 at her home on Beaver Brook Road after an extended struggle with cancer.  She was surrounded by close friends and caregivers, and importantly, by her two beloved golden retriever companions, Mollie and Zoie, as was her wish. 

Joan was the Office Manager for the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme for the past 12 years, a position she truly loved and performed with extraordinary skill, grace, compassion and unfailing good humor  In that capacity, she was the first person that many people encountered when they walked through the church doors, or when they called on the phone. She was the very definition of the values of hospitality and grace to which the church is dedicated. But for so many who had the privilege of knowing her, she was much more than a colleague, or a welcoming presence in the office.  She was a dear friend.  Above all, Joan loved gathering with friends, being with friends, cooking for friends, and spending time with those she cared about deeply. 

And when the time came, they surrounded her bedside, and helped her to know that she wasn’t alone, that she was loved, and that she was an important part of their lives.  Joan taught all who knew her something of what it is to be a friend. 

Joan was an accomplished artist, and had a passion for gardening, knitting and quilting.  She was also a great lover of poetry, especially the poems of Mary Oliver.   A few months ago, she shared with her friends Mary Oliver’s “When Death Comes.”  Despite the title, it’s a hopeful poem, as Joan always was.  The poem will be read at her memorial service at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme on Saturday, September 7th, 2019 at 2 p.m. 

Joan is survived by her brother Peter Winkler and his wife Lee Rogers of Gilbert, Arizona.  Also by her daughter Kathryn Johnston and her husband Blake, by her son David Minns and his wife Carrie, and by five grandchildren, Liam, Katie, Hanna, Jack and Will, all of Portland, Oregon. 

Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made in her name to The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, CT 06371, in care of The Minister’s Discretionary Fund. To share a memory of Joan or send a condolence to her family please visit www.rwwfh.com . Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.

Death of Milton Allen Announced; Memorial Service to be Held in Old Lyme, Aug. 24

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Milton Nicholas Allen  1927- 2019

Milton Nicholas Allen, born in New York City on April 15, 1927, died in Essex, Connecticut on May 29, 2019. He and his wife, to whom he was married for 35 years, had moved to Essex in 2016. They had previously lived in Old Lyme, Connecticut from 1988.

Milton attended Princeton University at the age of 17 where he was elected President of the Class of ‘48. He took a wartime leave of absence from Princeton the next year when he became old enough to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949 with Distinction. Upon graduation he was selected to represent the United States Navy and became a Rhodes Scholar Finalist. Milton then served in active duty for the Navy as a Lieutenant and Submarine Commander until 1954 when he retired to pursue a career in business.

His civilian life began as Assistant to the President of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company in Hartford, prior to the same role for The Sherwin-Williams Company in Cleveland. He was also a Partner at Robert Heller & Associates (Management Consultants). In 1969 he started his own computer service, software and consulting business, which he led as CEO and Chairman until its sale in 1990. Manufacturing Decision Support Systems (MDSS Inc.) was the first online management information systems and services company. It served manufacturing, distribution, insurance and transportation companies across the US.

Milton was a Director of Progressive Corporation for over 20 years, as well as a Director of Day- Glo Color Corp., DeSantis Coatings Inc., Premier Electric Company, Lighting International Corp., AGA Burdox Gas Inc., Daro Industries, Actron Corp., Mueller Electric Company, and the Women’s Federal Savings Bank.

Contributing to the communities in which he lived was very important to him. In addition to his quiet philanthropy and mentoring of leaders, in Cleveland he was a Director of Laurel School, The Cleveland Playhouse, The Cleveland Institute of Music, the Center for Venture Development and Case Western Reserve University School of Management. He was also Chairman of the Goodrich-Gannett Neighborhood Center, Chairman of the Cleveland Council for Independent Schools and Chairman of the Switzer Foundation.

After moving back east, Milton was a Director and then Chairman of The Ivoryton Playhouse in Connecticut, The Putney School and Yellow Barn music school in Vermont, and Chairman of Hubbard Brook Environmental Research. He also served as a Director of the Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library in Old Lyme.

In addition to his business, and various commercial and not for profit roles, for which he was known for his integrity, insight and calm leadership, Milton was committed to his family, his friends and his lifetime love of music and the water.

Milton is predeceased by his wife, Liesa Bing Allen, his older brother, Homer Nicholas Allen and his twin brother, Winston Nicholas Allen. He is survived by his younger brother Gordon Nicholas Allen of Madison, Florida, his three children from a previous marriage, Peter Milton Allen of Palo Alto, California, Thomas Hughes Allen of New York City and Jane Scarlett Allen of Sydney, Australia, as well as five grandchildren, Alexandra Elizabeth Scarlett Allen, Jonathan Thomas Allen, Olivia Sophie Allen, George Dexter Allen and Eloise Scarlett Allen-Bowton.

A Memorial Service to honor his life will be held August 24, 2019 at 2pm at The First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, CT. All are welcome.