Frank L. Ryczek, 85, of Middletown, died on April 12, 2012 after a long illness.

     He was born in Middletown December 14, 1926 and was a lifelong resident. Frank retired from Raymond Engineering in 1994 after 43 years of service, the longest tenure of any Raymond employee. He was a communicant of St. Francis of Assisi Church and a veteran of the United States Army who served at Fort Hood, Texas shortly after the end of the Second World War.
 
     Frank is survived by Katherine (Cotter) Ryczek, his wife of over 60 years, his son William and his wife Susan of Wallingford, his daughter Ellen of Old Saybrook, his daughter Claire DeFrancesco and her husband Michael of Southington, his grandchildren Michael and Anne Ryczek and Joseph and Andrea DeFrancesco, his sister Irene Smith of Middletown and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, John and Josephine Ryczek, his brother John and an infant daughter.

     The family would like to thank Dr. Margaret O’Donoghue, Dr. Emmanuel Kenta-bibi, the staff at Water’s Edge Health and Rehabilitation Center and the Middlesex Hospital Hospice Care staff for the care provided to Frank in the last months of his life.

      Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. from the Biega Funeral Home, 3 Silver St., Middletown followed by an 11 a.m. Funeral Liturgy in St. Francis of Assisi Church. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Friends may call at the Biega Funeral Home Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Connecticut Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association 27 Allendale Drive, North Haven, CT 06473 or a charity of the donor’s choice.