Ronald D. Chiarella

WALLINGFORD - Ronald D. Chiarella, 71, of Wallingford, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017, surrounded by his loving family.

Born in Danbury, on May 19, 1945, Ron lived there and in Seymour, before settling in Wallingford where he had lived for the past three decades. He was employed by the Southern New England Telephone Company in New Haven, from 1967 to 1996. After graduating from Fairfield University in 1967 with a degree in political science, Ron spent a year with the U.S. Army in Vietnam. This was a year that would forever shape his endless gratitude to all those who serve our communities and our country as well as his profound appreciation for the things that mattered most to him: family, friends, and the loving bonds between them.

Ron will be dearly missed by his wife, Melanie; his children and their spouses, Karen and Tom, Brian and Marissa, and Amy and Tyler; and his five grandchildren whom he endlessly adored, Meadow, Alexa, Lotus, Zachary, and Saylor. Ron is also survived by his brother, Ralph (and wife, Gloria); many cousins; sisters and brothers-in-law; and numerous dear friends.

The Chiarella family would like to kindly thank the Alzheimer's Resource Center of Plantsville for their loving care of Ron over the past year, as well as the medical staff of the Hospital of Central Connecticut's Bradley Memorial Campus for comforting Ron in his final days. The family is especially grateful to all friends, family, and acquaintances who have shared in their journey with Ron over the past few years.

Final services will be private; memorial donations in Ron's name to the Alzheimer's Resource Center of Connecticut or the Connecticut Frontotemporal Dementia Foundation would be greatly appreciated both by Ron's family and those organizations.