Ralph M. Bemis Sr.

BEMIS, Ralph M., Sr. Ralph M. Bemis, Sr., 82, formerly of West Hartford and Keene, New Hampshire, husband of the late Jane (Savard) Bemis, died Wednesday, (December 19, 2007) at Windham Hospital. He and Jane were married on December 20, 1947 and spent 57 years together. He died the day before what would have been their 60th Anniversary. Born in Hartford, May 8, 1925, a son of the late Paul Dana Bemis, Sr. and Marion Mitchell Bemis, he attended Hall High School and graduated from the New York Military Academy in 1943. During WWII, he served with the U.S. Army Signal Corp in the Aleutian Islands. Mr. Bemis went on to graduate from Wesleyan University. He joined National Life Insurance Company of Vermont upon graduation and worked as a general agent until his retirement. Mr. Bemis was an active member of First Church of Christ Congregational Church in West Hartford, serving as a deacon and chairman of the church council, and was an active member of the United Church of Christ in Keene, NH, serving in the same capacities while living there. He served as President of the Hartford Life Underwriter's Association, President of the Historical Society at Harrisville, NH, President of the Silver Lake Association, and President of the Willow Brook Condominium Association. Ralph summered at Silver Lake in New Hampshire since 1937, and was an avid tennis player, bridge player, snow skier in his earlier years, and history buff. He loved spending time with his family and was looking forward to meeting his first great grandchild. He is survived by four children and their spouses, Caryl B. Ryder and her husband, Robert, of Newington, Ralph M. "Skip" Bemis, Jr. and his wife, Margaret Ewald, of Columbia, Deborah Bond, and her husband, Leo, of South Windsor, and Sara Petrini and her husband, Kenneth, of Portland. He also leaves his brother, Paul Dana Bemis, Jr. and his wife, Joan, of West Hartford; eight grandchildren, Kelly Ryder, Kimberly Ryder, Brian Bemis and his wife, Yaosca, Claire Bemis, Kristofer Bond, Stephanie Bond, Corey Petrini, and Jesse Petrini; and two nephews. A Memorial Service will be held Friday, December 28th, 2 p.m., at the First Church of Christ Congregational, 12 South Main Street, West Hartford. Burial will be private in the spring at Riverside Cemetery, Chesham, New Hampshire. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Historic Harrisville, Inc., c/o Linda Willett, P.O. Box 79, Harrisville, NH 03450, or the American Heart Association, 2550 US Hwy. One, North Brunswick, NJ 08902-4301. Taylor & Modeen Funeral Home, West Hartford has care of arrangements