Ahern Funeral Home Condolences

Champion, William

AhernFH — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:47:57 +0000

William G. Champion, 79, of Canton, beloved husband of Carolyn (Carlson) Champion, passed away peacefully Tuesday, May 15th. Born in Detroit, MI, December 27th, 1932, son of the late William A. and Isabel (Wyatt) Champion, he resided in Canton for over 50 years. In 1966, Bill opened Champion’s Auto Body in Canton where he worked for 32 years before retiring in 1998. He was a United States Navy veteran of the Korean War. Bill loved woodworking and gardening, always lent a helping hand to anyone in need and visited many friends in convalescent homes. Besides his wife, he is survived by his two daughters, Deborah A. Alender and her husband Gary of Bristol and Diane Mitchell of Bristol, two sisters, Sharon Paddock and her husband James of Florida and Carol Hart and her husband Terrance of Michigan, his granddaughter Nicole Mitchell-Lagasse and her husband Joseph B. of Windsor and two great grandchildren Siobhain and Trenton. Friends may call at The Ahern Funeral Home, 111 Main St., Rt. 4, Unionville on Friday (May 18) from 4:00-7:00pm. Funeral services will be held Saturday (May 19) at 11:00am in Canton Community Baptist Church, 125 Dowd Ave., Canton. Navy honors will be rendered following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Canton Community Baptist Church, 125 Dowd Ave., Canton, CT 06019 or to the Canton Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 168, Collinsville, CT 06022.

Dyer, Danna L.

AhernFH — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:33:00 +0000

Danna Lewis Dyer, 63, passed away unexpectedly at her West Hartford home last week. Born Danna Lenore Lewis on October 9, 1948 in Cleveland, OH to the late Carlotta Owens and the late Morgan Lewis Sr., she was raised in Youngstown, OH with her step-brother, Morgan Lewis, Jr. Shortly after graduating from Mount Holyoke College in 1970, Danna married her now ex-husband, Charlie H. Dyer and moved to West Hartford, CT. She spent a few years raising her children full-time and then taught for 24 years in the Windsor public elementary school district. Just prior to retirement, Danna received her masters in library science and became the school librarian at John F. Kennedy Elementary School. During her lifetime, Danna was a strong advocate of equal rights for women and minorities, volunteering her time with The League of Women Voters, Black Teachers of Windsor, various Democratic political action groups and the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. She spent much of her free time discussing issues of equality, prejudice reduction and multicultural education in workshops and seminars throughout Connecticut. Additional leisure time was divided between various book and spiritual groups, including the Red Tent group. Danna is survived by her two sons Daniel S. Dyer, of Lambertville, N.J and David C. Dyer of Boston, MA; her ex-husband Charles H. Dyer of Jacksonville, FL and her step-brother Morgan Lewis, Jr. of Wilmington, NC. The memory of her life will be celebrated with friends and family at 9:30 am on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at Asylum Hill Congregational Church – 814 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Danna Lewis Dyer Scholarship Fund c/o David Dyer, 215 Bunker Hill Street, Apt. 2, Boston, MA 02129.

Wild, Sally

AhernFH — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:14:48 +0000

Sally (Lovejoy) Wild, 85, of Farmington, died Sunday, May 13th after a courageous fight with ovarian cancer. She was the beloved wife and best friend ever to Donald S. Wild. Sally grew up in West Hartford, but lived in Farmington since her marriage in 1954. Following graduation from the old Hall High, Class of 1944, she was employed at the Hartford Probate Court and later worked at Security Connecticut Life Insurance Company. She taught Sunday School and was a Girl Scout leader for several years. She enjoyed the outdoors, skiing and sailing, and for over twenty years, she and Don would live aboard their thirty foot sloop, “Another WILD IDEA” every summer and cruise the New England coast to the far downeast corner of Maine, venturing to the Bay of Fundy and Nova Scotia. She was an expert knitter and a skilled photographer whose excellent photographs contributed largely to the success of her husband’s book, “The New England Sailors’ Limerick Guide”. For over 30 years, she was a volunteer driver for Meals-On-Wheels. She loved being a mother and grandmother. The family expresses deep gratitude for the excellent and professional help given to Sally by the nurses, aides, and staff of Masonicare Partners Hospice. Besides her husband, she leaves a daughter and son-in-law, Nancy and Brian Comer of Weatogue, and a son and daughter-in-law, Clay and Laura Wild of Quaker Hill, also five much loved grandchildren: Erin and Timothy Comer; and Aaron, Katie and Tyler Wild. She was predeceased by two sisters, Mary Grant and Norma Wade. Funeral Services will be held Friday (May 18) at 10:00am in the First Church of Christ Congregational, 61 Main St., Unionville with Rev. Wendy Sue Kissa officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Church of Christ Congregational, 61 Main St., Unionville, CT 06085.

Gresh, William

AhernFH — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:57:49 +0000

William T. Gresh, 88, of Avon, loving husband for 60 years of the late Evelyn (Taucher) Gresh, passed away peacefully Monday, May 7th at his home. Born in Unionville January 11th, 1924, son of the late Michael D. and Anna (Marek) Gresh. Prior to retiring in 1986, he was a Foreman for Ensign Bickford in Simsbury for 37 years. Bill was a United States Navy veteran of World War II. He was drafted into the Navy on March 11, 1943 and had boot training and signalman school at Sampson Naval Base. He then was off to Little Creek Amphibious Base, then to Camp Pickett, Virginia. He was attached to 292nd Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO); trained with the Army for six months then went overseas to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii at Fort Haase. He left JASCO then went aboard USS Lamar APA-47. He was attached to the commander transport division 37 beach party. He made the Invasion of Guam with the 77th Division, and then participated in the return to the Philippine Islands with the 7th in the Invasion of Leyte. He was then transferred with the transport division to the USS Monrovia APA-31 where he made the Invasion of Luzon with the 1st Calvary Division. He participated in landing with the 22nd Marines in landing on Okinawa. Bill was a longtime communicant at the Church of St. Ann in Avon and was a 50 year member of the VFW Post 3272 Gildo-Consolini in Avon where he served as Past Commander from 1967-1968. He is survived by his son Thomas R. Gresh and his wife Petty G. Gresh of Willimantic, his daughter Laurel G. Nolan and her husband William M. of Farmington, his daughter Jane G. Tessier and her husband Paul A. of Lynnfield, MA, five grandchildren, Michael Nolan and his wife Jaci, William Gresh, Katie Nolan, Emily Gresh and Jaclyn Tessier, his sister Carol Sokol and her husband Jere of Corona del Mar, CA, his brother Michael B. Gresh and his wife Kathleen (Hawkes) Gresh of Avon and was the loving brother-in-law to Dorothy Taucher, Elizabeth Tkac and her husband Michael, Louise Geiger and Theodore Taucher. He was predeceased by his twin brother, Rev. Edward R. Gresh and his two sisters, Irene O’Malley and Margaret Mercuri. Friends may call at The Ahern Funeral Home, 111 Main St., Rt. 4, Unionville on Thursday (May 10) from 4:00-8:00pm. Funeral procession from The Ahern Funeral Home will be Friday (May 11) at 9:15am followed by the Funeral Liturgy in the Church of St. Ann, Avon at 10:00am. Burial with full military honors will be in St. Ann Cemetery, Avon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to FAVARH, 225 Commerce Dr., Canton, CT 06019.

Schreier, Patricia

AhernFH — Mon, 07 May 2012 15:51:37 +0000

Patricia Anne (Gay) Schreier, 53, of Bristol, passed away Friday, May 4th at her home. Born in Hartford, March 4th, 1959, beloved daughter of Natalie (Pinney) Gay of Bristol and the late Robert L. Gay, Sr., she was raised in Hartford. Patricia was a hard core New York Giants fan, was the best Spades player, and loved the beach and potato salad. She loved to laugh and to make others laugh with her stories, she loved people most especially her children, grandchildren and family, she was compassionate and generous and will be remembered as a loving Nana. Besides her mother, Patti is survived by her two daughters, Jaimie Lynne (Schreier) Robertson and her husband Chauncey of Middletown, and Heather Marie Davis of Bristol, her grandchildren, Junior Askew, Caiou Jenkins, Chauncey Robertson II and Kailey Robertson all of Middletown, her siblings, James and Cindy Gay of Point Sienna, FL, Nancy and Robert Frank of Bristol, Cindy Kohser of Bristol, Robert Gay of Unionville, Christopher and Shirley Gay of Torrington, Stephen and Allison Gay of Bristol, William and Cynthia Gay of Unionville, Kimberly and Frank Ortiz of Unionville and Karen and Steven Benson of Unionville and numerous nieces, nephews and a host of relatives and friends. Funeral Services will be private at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06111 or to the Bristol Food Pantry, c/o Bristol Community Organization, Inc., 55 South Street, Bristol, CT 06010.

Skoglund, Helen

AhernFH — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:06:18 +0000

Helen Frances (Tejral) Skoglund, 77, the wife of Ivan R. (Ray) Skoglund, died on April 26th, 2012, at the UConn Health Center. Born in New York City and then raised on a farm in West Willington, CT, the daughter of the late Frank and Helen (Hosek) Tejral, she resided in Farmington, West Willington and Niantic. She graduated from Central Connecticut State College (now University) with a Bachelors Degree and a Masters Degree from the University of Connecticut. Afterwards, she conducted further graduate studies at Penn State, Stanford and in Europe. She was an educator all of her life, teaching in the public schools of New Britain, including as Principal of the Stanley School, and as a Professor of Education at Central Connecticut State College. In later life, she taught English as a second language at Tunxis Community College to recently immigrated students. She had a lifelong passion for travel both internationally and domestically. She loved the ocean and was a long-time resident of the Giants Neck Beach section of Niantic and spent many happy summers there with her family and friends. She served on the Board of Directors of Nutmeg Cable Television and was a past President of the Giants Neck Beach Association, the Pattagansett Women’s Club and the Garden Club of New Britain. She was a member of First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Farmington where she was a member of Church Women United and the Membership Committee and she was also a member of the Farmington Senior’s Red Hat Society and the Farmington Tunxis Senior Citizen’s Association.

Besides her husband, Ray, she is survived by her two sons, Raymond F. Skoglund and Richard I. Skoglund. A funeral service will be held in the Meetinghouse at the First Church of Christ in Farmington at12:00pm on Sunday, April 29th. Reception to follow at the Sarah Porter Memorial at the First Church of Christ, 75 Main St., Farmington, CT. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the National Kidney Foundation or the First Church of Christ of Farmington Congregational Care Fund. For more information, please contact Ahern Funeral Home, www.ahernfuneralhome.com.

Knapp, Beverley

AhernFH — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:57:10 +0000

Beverley A. Knapp, of Hartford, passed away Saturday, April 21st. Beverly had just turned 74. She was the wife of the late Thomas Knapp. She is survived by her son Bobby Loomis, his companion Jean Nozka and her caretaker Linda Root. She will be missed by all her friends at Immanuel House where she lived for many years. Funeral Services will be held Saturday (Apr. 28) at 10:00am in Immanuel Congregational Church, 10 Woodland St., Hartford. Burial will be private.

Landry, Carrie

AhernFH — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:29:46 +0000

Carrie Frances (Wellman) Landry, of New Britain, widow of Albert Landry, passed from this world on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at Hartford Hospital, surrounded by her loving family. Born in Hartford on September 5, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Isabell Keefe and William Wellman. Carrie graduated from Bulkeley High School in 1950 and did clerical work for the State of CT the last 15 years of her career, retiring in 1993. Carrie was known for her kindness, compassion, patience, virtue, and unyielding faith in God. Carrie leaves behind two daughters, Ann Mangene and her partner, Dominic Vacarro, and Rose Ann Landry, a son Mark Landry and his partner, Beverly Cohen, 7 grandchildren, Lisa, Cherie, Christopher, Louis, Mark, Justin, and Danny, and 6 great grandchildren, Johnny, Eddie, Jordan, Aliza, Alexander, and Zackary and 4 sisters, Donna, Gail, Gay and Gloria. Besides her husband of 45 years, she was predeceased by her son, William Landry, two daughters, Carrie Willette and Mary Dunham, a great granddaughter, Alissa Bellow, and two brothers, Robert Keefe and Daniel Wellman. Friends may call at The Ahern Funeral Home, 180 Farmington Ave., Hartford on Friday (Apr. 20) from 5:00-7:00pm. Funeral procession from The Ahern Funeral Home will be Saturday (Apr. 21) at 9:15am followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, 285 Church Street, Hartford at 10:00am. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery, Rocky Hill. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Brittany Health Center, 400 Brittany Farms Rd, New Britain, CT 06053.

Hickey, John

AhernFH — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:32:11 +0000

John T. Hickey, of Farmington, married for 58 years to his high school sweetheart Ruth Hickey, passed away Monday (April 16, 2012). Born in Springfield, MA, he attended Springfield Technical High School and was a graduate of Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. Prior to retiring, John was an Aerospace Engineer at Pratt & Whitney. John was a United States Navy veteran of the Korean War. He was active in Farmington town politics and acted as Conservation Commissioner for many years. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather. Besides his wife, he is survived by his children, Michael S. Hickey of San Francisco, CA, Robert S. Hickey of Simsbury, and Leslie A. Noury and her husband Patrick of Farmington, and his two grandchildren, Christopher Noury and Peter Noury.
Funeral Services will be held Friday (April 20) at 1 p.m. in The Ahern Funeral Home, 111 Main St., Rt. 4, Unionville. There will be no calling hours.

Cadwell, Frank “Bunky”

AhernFH — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:17:30 +0000

Frank A. (Bunky) Cadwell III, 69, of Farmington, died of an aortic aneurysm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012. He was born on September 7, 1942 in Hartford, Ct., the son of Frank and Helen Coates Cadwell. Bunky was a graduate of Farmington High School and a lifelong Farmington resident as well as an active member of the community. Following in his father’s footsteps, he served many years in the Farmington Volunteer Fire Department. He owned and managed F. A. Cadwell Corporation for most of his life. Bunky spent all of his summers on Coates Island in Vermont. His passion was Bass fishing on Lake Champlain with all of his friends from Connecticut every fall as well as some Ice Fishing in the winter at his camp on Coates Island. He is survived by six special cousins, William Coates and his wife, Constance, James Coates and his wife, Ellen, David Coates and his wife, Margaret, Gladys Coates Hart, Helen Coates Bailey and her husband, David, and Nancy Lazauskas and her husband, Peter, and all of the wonderful children and grandchildren of his cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister, Marilyn, and three wonderful uncles and their spouses. Graveside services will be held Saturday (Apr. 14) at 1:00pm in the family plot at Riverside Cemetery in Farmington, Ct. A memorial service will be held on Coates Island in Colchester, Vermont at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Farmington Fire Department, 76 Main Street, Farmington, Ct. 06032.