Jonathan Ryan, left, and his father Christopher Ryan, of Ryan Funeral Home, are pleased to offer their services to the Lakeville/Salisbury area. They have reopened 255 Main St as a funeral home after it was closed for twenty years and used as a family residence.
LAKEVILLE — Ryan Funeral Home is back in Lakeville after a two-decade hiatus.
The Lakeville branch of their business, Ryan Funeral Home, is located at 255 Main Street at the corner of Lincoln City Road.
“We are happy to be part of the community and continue caring for the community as has been for over ninety years,” the Ryans said. “We are here for personal service, and we take pride in that.”
The big brick house on Main Street was built almost 90 years ago in 1935 and was the location of the Burdick Funeral home. In 1945 G. Roger Newkirk bought the business and it became Newkirk Funeral Home.
Newkirk operated it until 1973 when Frances Gomez bought the business, operating it from 1973-1990, still under the name of Newkirk Funeral Home. Besides Lakeville, there was also a branch in Canaan.
Patti Gomez Majesky, daughter of Frances Gomez and his wife, Patricia, described what life was like in that 1973-1990 period when the family lived with the business.
Majesky said her mother got tired of having to move furniture around whenever the house was needed for a funeral. She recalled putting up a Christmas tree only to have to take it down the next day for a service. She said, “We got really good at moving furniture around.” It was a relief to just have the house as a family house when her father sold the business.
In 1990 Gomez sold the Canaan part of the business to Robert Palmer (Newkirk-Palmer Funeral Home) while retaining the house in Lakeville as residential space for his family.
The most recent incarnation of the Ryan Funeral Home dates to the reopening of 255 Main Street at the end of 2023. It had been closed as a funeral home for more than 20 years and the father and son team are happy to reopen with services to the Lakeville/Salisbury area.
With this reopening, the business has stayed in the family. Patti’s son, Jonathan Ryan, is the grandson of Frances Gomez. He is a licensed funeral director and embalmer as is his father. His father, Christopher, worked for Gomez from 1987-1989.
Christopher graduated from Mortuary school in 1986 and has been practicing ever since. Mortuary school involves two years and earns an associate’s degree. A one-year apprenticeship is required after graduation.
The Ryans have a branch in Torrington; Gleeson-Ryan Funeral Home. Jonathan is mostly based there. Before Christopher Ryan bought it in 2007, it was in the same family for four generations and was known as Gleeson Mortuary. Christopher said that some of the original family still helps out at funerals.
“Funeral homes tend to stay as family businesses,” he said.
The Ryans pointed out that many people are pre-planning their funerals. They said it can be a tremendous help to children and other relatives who may not know just what was wanted by their loved ones. In most cases money for a pre-paid funeral is held in trust and the funds are released when a death certificate is confirmed.
Christopher Ryan said of the future of funeral directors and embalmers, “There is going to be a shortage over the next 20 years. Not enough candidates are coming in to replace the current funeral directors.” At the same time, “with baby boomers aging, the death rate will be rising in the next 20 years.”
Jon and Christopher Ryan carry the main load of the business between them. They hire part-time staff as needed. “Mostly retired gentlemen” who are looking for extra work. He added, it is “not always easy to find people available” because they can’t predict when deaths may occur and can’t promise regular dates. Jon’s mother, Patti, still helps out when needed.
The Ryans said they are there to guide people through what can be one of the most difficult times in their lives. They are proud to “Provide personal service, meet with families directly, and take care of them.”
They offer cremations, funerals, burials, and celebrations of life. Jonathan Ryan said people “don’t necessarily need to come to the funeral home.” He said he and his father are happy to come to your home or meet with you online by Zoom. They are “bringing the business into the new century while maintaining their personal touch,” said Jonathan.
Ryan Funeral Home can be reached at (860) 435-2700, by cell at (203) 231-4677, or online at www.ryanfhct.com.
On a cloudy Wednesday at the start of October, my girlfriend, Taylor, and I decided to enjoy the autumn afternoon by getting off our laptops and into the woods for some much needed movement. Having just moved to Norfolk as a new reporter for the Lakeville Journal, I was on the hunt for panoramic views of the landscape I now call home, accessible with the hour and a half of daylight left to us. Haystack Tower it was.
I’m not entirely unfamiliar with the landscapes of the Northwest Corner: I visited family and friends in the region as a child and would drive up on high school joyrides from my home in Westchester County. But calling somewhere home brings new meaning to a place, and I was eager to see a familiar view with a new sense of belonging.
To extend the walk a bit, we chose the yellow trail loop, starting from the bottom of the road leading up the hill off North Street. Our journey began on a neatly mowed path through a gently sloping meadow, with stands of purple-white New England asters poking out from a mosaic of green and red leaves and grasses on either side of the trail.
Our trail took us into a forest sporting half-autumn colors: some maple stands blazed gold and orange while others remained dark green. The occasional fiery swamp maple glowed bright red below the overstory, catching the glints of sunlight that managed to penetrate the cloud layer and canopy.
As we trudged up the forested hillside, my field of vision was so washed in texture — a chaos of rocks, roots, bark, and leaves of every shade — that my eyes almost started to ache.
The trail plateaued after a short climb into a new type of forest: three-story oaks underscored with hickory saplings. With a new composition, the forest assumed a browner and yellower hue than that of the maple-dominated lower hillside.
We eventually reached the imposing stone tower at Haystack Mountain’s summit, and we quickly climbed the winding stairs to find what we came for: 360-degree views of forested hills folding over one another as they spread into the distance, interspersed by patches of valley farmland. A copse of orange maples framed Route 44 as it passed through Norfolk below. This was the beautiful patchwork landscape I am lucky to now call home.
A relaxed jaunt down a wide carriage road took us around the mountain’s northeastern flank as eastern hemlocks leaned overhead and clung to the steep slope below. Reaching the car with daylight to spare, we decided to prolong the outing with an evening pint.
At Norbrook Farm Brewery, we were asked if we wanted to join a game of jukebox bingo. It looked like fun, but we couldn’t get enough of the October evening air, so we headed outside instead to sit fireside on the patio. Settling into an Adirondack chair, I sipped the brewery’s brown ale (the “Beckley Furnace Ale”). It was malty and crisp, and certainly one of the better in the style I’ve had recently. Taylor is partial to seasonal beers and opted for their pumpkin ale, joyously titled the “Gourdo.” I’m usually not a fan of pumpkin-flavored anything, but I agreed that this was a nicely balanced beer and enjoyed the few sips I took.
As the light faded on the hills, we noted that the foliage across the fields looked to be nearly peaking in the soft glow of the evening. A chill settled in and I huddled closer to the fire, eager to lean into the swiftly changing season in my new home.
Chilly rain sprinkles did not keep area art lovers away from the opening of the Kent Art Association’s Fall Juried Art Show on Sunday, Oct. 13. Judges for the event were association members Liz Maynard and Conrad Levenson. The show will continue until Saturday, Nov. 2, during the association's open hours.
Kent artist and long-term resident Carolyn Millstein (above) paused for a photo next to her piece, “Near Oakdale."
“SHELTER,” an art exhibit supporting The Gathering Place opened on Suday, Oct. 12, at the Royal Arcanum Building in Norfolk, Conn. Featuring works by fourteen area artists, proceeds from sales will benefit The Gathering Place based in Torrington, Conn., which provides essential services to the homeless across 26 towns in Litchfield County. Open weekdays, this vital resource offers everything from hot showers and laundry facilities to housing assistance. The exhibit runs through Nov. 24.
