Richard "Bird" Cyr

Richard Allen Cyr, “Bird”, 73, of Colchester, passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday (March 14, 2017) with his loving wife, JoAnn (Dobbs) Cyr at his side.  Born Jan. 11, 1944 in Oneco, he was the son of the late Joseph Henry and Mary Louise (Lemieux) Cyr, Sr.  He grew up in Jewett City and attended St. Mary’s School and went on to graduate from Griswold High.  Mr. Cyr was a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and Army and served a tour of duty in Vietnam from 1968 to 69 during his seven years of total service.  This led him to become a Life Member, Past Commander and Color Guard Sergeant of VFW Post 10004 in Jewett City and well as a member of the Donald A. Bigelow American Legion Post 54 in Colchester.  For 47 years, he had worked as a union carpenter for Local #24 before his retirement.  In his spare time, he could be found enjoying time with family and friends at Gardner Lake in Salem, be it water skiing, fishing and tubing with the kids or just floating around in the boat.  Bird was also a longtime member of the Colchester Farmers Club and the Bozrah Moose Lodge 950 and was a lifelong fan of both the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox.

In addition to his loving wife of 18 years, he leaves two children, Casey Nowakowski and her husband, Robert of Preston and Anthony “Tony” Cyr of Maine; two stepchildren, Elaine Bacon of Wantage, NJ and David Szepanski of Chaplin; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Joseph and Marion Cyr, Jr. of Sarasota, FL and Theodore and Stephanie Cyr of Jewett City; and several grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as numerous extended family members and friends.  He was predeceased by two brothers, Paul and Robert Cyr in addition to his parents.

A Celebration of his Life with the rendering of military honors will be observed 11 AM Sunday (March 19th) at the Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home, 167 Old Hartford Road, Colchester.  The family will receive guests starting at 10:30 AM.  He will be laid to rest privately at the State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown.  The family would like to recognize with grateful appreciation his dedicated nurse Amy, as well as the entire staff from Hospice Care of SECT, and suggest that those who wish make a donation in Bird’s memory to them in lieu of flowers (www.hospicesect.org).