Harold F. C. Ryan, age 64 years, of Kingwood Township, NJ, died suddenly on Thursday, June 21, 2018 at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born in New York City, NY, February 13, 1954, son of the late Marjorie J. Kreisel, Harold spent the first three years of his life in Haledon, NJ, prior to moving to Warren Township, Somerset County where he lived most of his life before moving to Kingwood Township in 1992.

A 1972 graduate of Watchung Hills Regional High School, Harold went on to receive an Associates in Applied Science and Fire Science Technology from Union County Technical College, Scotch Plains, NJ.

Beginning to volunteer for Mt. Bethel Volunteer Fire Company in 1972, Harold’s passion for fire service was ignited by his time at Mt. Bethel. It was during this time he helped  found the Warren Township Extrication Team. He also started working for the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service around that time and had served over 40 years in fire service.

Currently, Harold was serving as Section A-8 Fire Warden for the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service. Harold’s passion for fire service is one of the first things people learned about him, as his zeal for the job showed that is was not a job, but rather a part of his persona. In fact, there was usually some sort of fire apparatus in his driveway for most of his life.

He loved to teach, and always believed that there was more to learn about all parts of this wonderful thing known as, “Life.” Fire fighting and fire prevention was a team effort to Harold, and he became a mentor to many, not just in fire service, but in various other areas as well. Author Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, “I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine.” This quote accurately sums up who Harold is and always will be to all who knew him, as he was the man who would truly give anyone the shirt off his back if he could help them, no questions asked.

“I’m content,” a phrase often used by Harold, is another good way to describe this caring soul who was the first to remind anyone that he knew what mattered in his life, and what was just, “excess noise”; this solitude and understanding about life he attributed to maturity and growing older.

He was extremely generous with his time and greatly enjoyed helping others, especially when it came to anything mechanical or labor intensive. From fixing an oil burner for a friend whose heat had gone out in the middle of a blizzard, to helping a friend tow a broken down vehicle, Harold was a true, “jack of all trades” and master of them all! He loved firefighting, but that was just the tip of the iceberg to the dynamic person Harold was.

His family was priority, and he was known to do many sweet little things for his loving wife, Laura, “just because she deserved it,” as he was heard to say over the years. From warming up her car early in the morning, to surprising her with flowers, Harold was truly a gentle teddy bear; the sometimes gruff exterior still held the heart of tenderness for her and for all people. The two have been inseparable for thirty-two years, and the love they shared is a beacon of light for many.

In addition to fire service, Harold also worked various other jobs throughout the years, as he always enjoyed keeping busy and using his creative talents however he was able; he was a bus driver for Fred Dealaman Bus Service and worked for Electric Arc, Harris Steel, Rebman Excavating, Frank Mundy Excavating, Blue Ridge Oil and also plowed snow for the Township of Bridgewater for eighteen years in his 1959 B-61 Mack Truck.

He also owned and operated Rabbit Welding, R & R Services, and H. F. C. Ryan Excavating, of which he was most proud.

A life member of both the Mt. Bethel Fire Co. of Warren Township as well as the Kingwood Township Fire Company, he also served for a period of time with the Frenchtown Volunteer Fire Department while working for the Frenchtown DPW.

Harold was a volunteer for the Black River and Western Railroad and a member of Darcy Lodge No. 37, F. & A. M.

September 11, 2001 had a profound effect upon Harold, and feeling as if he needed to help, he and several of his fellow firefighters traveled into New York City and were part of the many who worked “the pile” in the aftermath of the attacks. This experience changed him, as it did most who were there, and he learned to appreciate every day just a little bit more.

In addition to family, friends, firefighting, hard work and genuine caring, Harold would want mentioned his love of flying.

He earned his private pilot’s license and eventually a helicopter certificate. Laura will always remember the anniversary he flew them over New York City; it is in this realm of thought that we know one’s spirit can never be truly locked up, and Harold is now certainly soaring free, watching and guiding all of us until we are reunited one day.

In addition to his mother, Harold was predeceased by his grandparents, Otto and Olive Kreisel, who helped to raise him and who certainly were there to welcome him when he closed his eyes on this Earth for the final time.

Surviving are his wife of twenty-seven years, Laura Jeanne Christie Ryan, with whom he joined hands in marriage on December 14, 1990 at Mt. Tabor Methodist Church, Mt. Olive, NJ; his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Carolyn & Donald Christie; three sisters-in-law and their husbands, Linda and Reed Conley, Kathy Gregory and David Rowe, and Sandie and Todd Dagnall; his nieces and nephews, Laura Gonzalez and her fiancé, Josh Ebers, Diane and her husband, Braz Dantas, Brian Gonzalez, Amie and her husband, Philip Thomas, Scott and his wife, Meghan Gregory, Justin and his wife, Ashley Dagnall, and Sarah Dagnall; his great niece and nephews, Penelope Thomas, Carter Gregory and Jason Dagnall; his brothers and sisters in emergency services; and many cherished friends.

Life celebration services will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, 2018 in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ, 08822.

Burial with his beloved mother and grandparents will follow at Somerset Hills Memorial Park, 95 Mt. Airy Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

Harold will lie in repose on Wednesday, June 27, 2018 from 2:00-4:00 and 6:00-9:00 p.m. at the funeral home, where family and friends are invited to join and celebrate his life.

A fireman’s walk through and salute will take place Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m.

All departments wishing to send apparatus and personnel to the viewing, the funeral, the procession to the cemetery or any part thereof, are asked to kindly contact New Jersey Forest Fire Service Northern Division Fire Warden, Jason Von Oesen at 609-649-3615 or via e-mail at jason.vonoesen@dep.nj.gov. Staging, timing and other instructions will be provided and updated when available.

Please visit Harold’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com where one can light a memorial candle and leave a message of condolence and words of comfort, as well as share stories and photographs of his life.

In honoring Harold’s expressed wish for things to be kept simple when his time on this Earth was finished, in lieu of flowers, contributions in his name may be made to the FF Jeff Scheuerer Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 130, Whitehouse, NJ 08888. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated by the family.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned and operated “Life Celebration Home”