Obituary of Raymond Wallace Tryon

Raymond Wallace Tryon, 90 of Monterey Died Saturday November 16, 2019 at home surrounded by his loving family. Ray was born in Monterey on September 28, 1929 son of Albert Wallace and Marquerite (Stedman) Tryon. From a young age he was fascinated with machinery and had an intuitive sense about how things worked. He spent his free time in the backyard creating prototypes for a snowplow on a tractor (when the only known plows were on horses) and a front loader (before there was such a thing).  He was a graduate of the former Searles High School class of 1948.  Because of his mechanical genius, he was awarded a full scholarship to the Rensselear Polytechnic Institute. He founded Tryon Construction, an excavation and site work company known throughout the Berkshires for its quality work.  Ray was appointed to the Monterey Fire Department in 1953 and served as Fire Chief for fifty five years. Under his leadership he was a fierce advocate for the Fire Service and worked to build a new Monterey Fire Station and lay the groundwork to support a robust paid call department in an era where small town fire departments were struggling to survive. He mentored many young firefighters and was a member of the Fire Chiefs Association even after his retirement. He was active in Monterey town politics throughout his life. He served as Town Constable from 1953-2018 and held various other positions including fire warden, gas inspector, and election warden. At various times in his life he was a member of the conservation commission, capital highway improvement committee, safety committee, veteran’s memorial committee, and historical committee. Ray had a team of Percheron horses who lived in his backyard barn and he spent time showing them at regional fairs with his family. He also enjoyed playing softball for the infamous team The Monterey Mothers.  In his retirement, he kept himself busy refurbishing old caterpillar bulldozers as a member of the Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club , being an active member of Monterey Coffee Club, ballroom dancing, and keeping up with his grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Those who loved Ray will remember him for his mental sharpness, his ability to never mince words, his no nonsense approach to life, and his steadfast commitment to his community and family. Ray is survived by his wife June (Champigny) Tryon, his son Leigh Tryon (Wendy), his daughter Kathie Tryon (Raymond Becker), two grandchildren, Shawn (Carly) and Christopher (Cara) and three great grandchildren, Ian, Phoebe and Owen.

A Celebration of Life for Raymond Wallace Tryon will be held on Saturday November 23 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Monterey Fire Station. In lieu of flowers expressions of sympathy may be made out to the Monterey Fire Company in care of the BIRCHES-ROY FUNERAL HOME 33 South St. Great Barrington MA 01230. Condolences may be made through birchesroyfuneralservices.com.