IN MEMORIAM: Ryan Smith 36;

Maryland Man Chef, Stone Mason

MARYLAND – Ryan Austin Smith, 36, a stone mason and trained chef, passed away at home on March 19, 2020.

He was born July 23, 1983 in Oneonta, the son of Ronald and Deborah (Hitchcock) Smith.

Ryan attended Charlotte Valley Central School and ONC BOCES in the Culinary Arts Program and boy could he cook!

He married his soul mate, Colleen Vitale, on Aug. 29, 2015. As he would say his heart, the woman who tamed the beast.

Ryan was a concrete mason, working for Harry Jungclaus in Milford, who he highly respected and thought of as family.

If you knew Ryan or just met him you instantly felt drawn to him. He could light up a room with his crooked smile and the glare of his bald head. He was the life of the party and full of pranks and jokes, from his boops to his you won’ts. To know him was to love him. He always had a helping hand or one of his unforgettable warm hugs. He really loved everyone.

Ryan was a “good ol’ boy”. His children and his wife meant the world to him. He loved to put Colleen on the spot and make her blush. He showed his love of singing with Rylie, his love of hunting and fishing with Zane and Cassie and his love of smoke truck with Austin. When he wasn’t working, he was tinkering on something in the garage. He loved being a fireman. His real passions were watching the coal roll. Every time he heard any diesel the windows went down. He loved being in the barn with the animals. He could even make a goat smile. Red tractors were his “thing” and so was mud.

He is survived by his loving wife, Colleen; children, Zane, Cass, Austin, and Rylie; the “adopted” son, Dustin; his parents, Ronald and Deborah Smith; siblings, Aryn Smith and Amanda (Andrew) Shaffer; niece, Jaidyn; grandparents, Kathleen Smith and Ernest and Norma Hitchcock, who he adored; many aunts, uncles and cousins; Stephen Mateunas and family, who always had his back; the “brothers” he made at the Middlefield Fire Department and of course is pups, Silas and M2.

He was predeceased by his son, Ryan Patrick Smith; grandfather, Alton Smith; aunt, Rhonda Hitchcock and uncle, Graig Austin.

Staying within the legal guidelines, there was a small private service for immediately family.

A public celebration of Ryan’s life for family and friends will be planned and announced at a later date.

Donations may be sent to the Middlefield Fire Department or to the Go Fund Me that was set up in Ryan’s name.

Expressions of sympathy may be made at, www.lhpfuneralhome.com

Services are entrusted with Oneonta’s only family owned funeral home, Lewis, Hurley & Pietrobono Funeral Home at 51 Dietz Street.