Lyndon Ferry, 90, postal official, foster dad

Lyndon Ferry of Bethel, former superintendent of mails at the Ridgefield post office who was a parent or a foster parent to 18 children, died at Bethel Health Care Center Saturday, Dec. 9. He was 90 years old and the husband of the late Vivienne Seeley Ferry, who died in 1986.
Mr. Ferry was born in Ridgefield on Aug. 22, 1910, a son of the late Arthur Jennings and Minnie Beckwith Ferry. He was a 1928 graduate of Ridgefield High School and a 1930 graduate of Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Mass.
The son of a Ridgefield postal worker, Mr. Ferry joined the post office here in 1930 and worked his way up from a letter carrier to superintendent of mails.
When he began work at the post office, then on Main Street, the town had a population of 2,500. “You knew everyone and almost knew what kind of car they drove,” Mr. Ferry said at his retirement in 1965 after a 35-year career. “Now that the population has skyrocketed, it’s a different story.”
For a while after leaving the post office, he held several jobs including at the Wayside Food Market, Lighthouse Motors in Brewster, and as a house painter.
The Ferrys lived years ago on the Conklin Dairy Farm on Ramapoo Road where Mr. Ferry raised farm animals of his own. He later lived on Abbott Avenue for many years.
Through the years he and his wife, who had six children of their own, were foster parents to 12 more youngsters, ranging from babies to teenagers. Some stayed with the family as long as five years before being adopted or going off on their own.
Many maintained contact with the Ferrys for years. When Mr. Ferry celebrated his 90th birthday at a party last summer, three of the former foster children were among the guests, said his daughter, Elaine Crumrine of Bethel. Mr. Ferry had made his home with Mrs. Crumrine for the past 10 years.
An active man who enjoyed walking, Mr. Ferry played golf and played 18 holes without benefit of a golf cart until he was in his late 70s. He was named Senior Golfer of the Year at the Ridgefield Golf Course’s annual tournament and dinner in 1990. He was 80 years old then.
He bowled until he was 85, said Mrs. Crumrine. “He maintained a good average, too — 145 or 150.”
Mr. Ferry was a member of the Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church and of the Odd Fellows Lodge here.
Survivors include two sons: Frederic Ferry of Reedville, Va., and David K.S. Ferry of Newington; three other daughters: Janet Jespersen of Bedford, N.H., Ruth Ellen Mooney of Sutton, W.Va., and Arlene L. Corna of Danbury; 11 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren..
The Rev. William Pfohl of Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church conducted services Wednesday at the Kane Funeral Home on Catoonah Street. Burial will be in Fairlawn Cemetery in the spring.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Bethel Senior Center, 1 School Street, Bethel, CT 06801, or the Jesse Lee Memorial United Methodist Church, 207 Main Street, Ridgefield CT 06877.