Ryan Roy Franchetti - Online Memorial Website

Born in Maine, USA to his loving parents, Shelley and Steven on October 29, 1984.

Ryan Franchetti is the 2003 recipient of the $500 Lou Fontana Scholarship Award. He was presented a check and a special memento by David Stockford of the Department of Education at the Annual Awards Dinner of the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities (MADSEC). The dinner was held at the Augusta Civic Center May 15th.

Ryan was born in Farmington, Maine on October 29, 1984. Growing up with a mother, Shelley Franchetti, a teacher in the field of Special Education, as well as an aunt, Michelle Roy, also involved in Special Education, Ryan was, at an early age, exposed to the differences children with disabilities live with.

Growing up in Jay, Maine, Ryan entered the Jay school system and was involved in a number of activities including Student Council, ski team and the National Honor Society. Though it was these activities which helped him develop positive leadership qualities, it was Ryan's experiences tutoring in his high school's special education room, as well as volunteering at the Special Olympics Winter Games, which helped steer him in the direction of choosing to study in special education.

Graduated from Jay High School.

Passed away suddenly on March 27, 2006 of natural causes at the age of 21.

NORTH JAY -- Ryan Roy Franchetti, 21, of North Jay, passed away unexpectedly of natural causes Monday, March 27, 2006.He was born in Farmington on Oct. 29, 1984, a son of Stephen and Shelley (Roy) Franchetti. Ryan was a graduate of Jay High School in the class of 2003 and was attending the University of Maine at Farmington, majoring in rehabilitation and social services. He was an honor student while working full time at LEAP, Inc. He acted as a direct care professional and advocate for adults with special needs. Ryan spent many summers working as a counselor at Pine Tree Camp and as a Special Olympics volunteer. Ryan's dream and life's goal was to assist people with special needs.

Ryan loved his family, jogging, and spending time with his friends. His passion for life and his ability to always see the glass as "half full" will always be in our hearts. Ryan was a special young man and always made his friends and family proud. He touched all our lives with joy and happiness and never forgot his mother with fresh flowers and a smile. His sense of humor and love of life will be sadly missed.

Ryan is survived by his parents; brother, Derek of North Jay; his paternal grandmother, Beverly Franchetti of Wilton; paternal uncles, Peter and his wife, Jane Franchetti, of East Wilton and their children, Mica, Garrett, and Anthony, John Franchetti of Stockton, Calif., and his children, Alyssa, Alex, and Thomas, and David and his wife, Kary, of Turner; and paternal aunt, Betsy and her husband, Jim Harvey, of Millinocket and their son, Adam. He is also survived by his maternal grandmother, Joan Roy of Winslow; paternal aunts, Diane (Roy) and her husband, William Keelan, of Portland, Michelle Roy and her companion, Charlie Dodge, of Buckfield and their children Amanda and Justin; paternal uncle, Michael and his wife, Kristin Roy, of Peru, N.Y., and their daughter Katharine.

Ryan was predeceased by his paternal grandfather Robert Franchetti; maternal grandfather Honore "Babe" Roy; and a cousin, Travis Strout.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday from St. Rose of Lima Church, Jay. Following Mass, all are invited to a reception at the Parish hall. Relatives and friends are invited to call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Wiles Remembrance Center, 136 High St.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial donations be made to the Leap Recreational Fund, 118 Anson St., Farmington, ME 04938. Messages of condolences may be e-mailed to wilesfuneralhomes@verizon.net.

FARMINGTON -- Nikolas Neale spent Tuesday morning getting a tattoo on his rib cage, not far from his heart. In black ink it reads, "In loving memory of Ryan Franchetti."The tattoo was just one of the many ways grieving students and faculty at the University of Maine at Farmington marked the death of Franchetti, a 21-year-old UMF junior who was found dead in his family's North Jay home on Monday morning.

"He would tell me I was crazy to do that," admitted Neale, a UMF junior from Yarmouth who shared Franchetti's major of Rehabilitation Services as well as a close friendship. "But he would have loved it. He was very sentimental."

Students and faculty on the Farmington campus struggled on Tuesday to make sense of the surprising death of a man who was described by friends as leading a purpose-driven life. The cause of death is unknown but Franchetti's obituary attributed it to natural causes.

"He lived to help," explained Neale. "We need more people in the world like Ryan."

An honors student at UMF, Franchetti also worked full time as a direct care professional and advocate for adults with special needs at LEAP, the Farmington based agency that provides support to people with developmental disabilities.

"The biggest loss for me is thinking about all the people he could have and would have touched," said Dr. Karen Barrett, associate professor of rehabilitation at UMF. "This is just a tremendous loss not just to the college but to our profession of rehab."

His commitment to service started early and as a student at Jay High School, he was involved in Jay Active Youth, a group coordinated by the Healthy Community Coalition that worked to create after-school opportunities for teens to reduce their likelihood of abusing substances.

Franchetti worked with his peers to design and develop a new community park in Jay where kids could hang out and just be themselves, said Nicole Ditata, HCC's program coordinator, who remembers him as "quick-witted" and devoted "to always working to make things better for other people."

That commitment to caring was how many on campus, particularly the 110 students who shared his major and knew him best, remembered Franchetti.

While pausing to reminisce about him and recall his infectious grin, students in the program also showed a renewed vigor toward their promise as Rehabilitation Services majors to help others, Barrett said.

"It is what Ryan would have wanted and this is the best way for us to pay tribute to his legacy," she explained. "He did more for others by the age of 21 than most do in an entire lifetime."

Two full time counselors at the UMF Center for Human Development were available to speak with mourning students, and college spokeswoman Jennifer Eriksen said several students had used the counseling services.

Eriksen confirmed that this was the first student death of the 2005-2006 academic year among the 2,000 or so university students.

"We all had a great respect of his devotion to helping others," said rehabilitation professor, Dr. Robert Pullo, who was also Franchetti's adviser. "He would have been a tremendous asset to the field. He was a tremendous asset -- he was already out there and he only would have contributed more."

A funeral will be held for Franchetti at the St. Rose of Lima Church in Jay at 11 a.m. Friday.

Barrett confirmed that a university van has been reserved to take students to the service. And in class tonight, Neale said, a vase full of fresh flowers, including red roses symbolic of the love Franchetti's friends and family had for him, will sit at his friend's former seat.

"He would laugh at all this," Neale conceded, chuckling as he recalled his friend's unwavering sense of humor and humility. "He would not believe that he affected as many people as he did."

Relatives and friends were invited to call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. for a viewing and wake Thursday at the Wiles Remembrance Center, 136 High St.

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday from St. Rose of Lima Church, Jay. Following Mass, all were invited to a reception at the Parish hall.