A Fond Farewell To Sandy Hook’s ‘Tricycle Man’

By Nancy K. Crevier

He was a fixture in Sandy Hook Center, so it seems appropriate that one of the last events William “Yo” Ready attended was the tree lighting there on Saturday evening, December 1.

Mr Ready, 67, died unexpectedly Sunday, December 2, at the home in Sandy Hook that he shared with longtime friend “Butch” Piccirillo and where he had formerly shared quarters with Anthony and Tina Capozziello and their children.

He was born in Norwalk on December 30, 1939, the son of Virginia (Whitlock) Ready Matthews and William Ready, Sr. He spent the early years of his life at Southbury Training School, later moving to Sandy Hook to live with a sister.

He quickly became an icon in Newtown, pedaling his adult-sized tricycle up and down Church Hill Road as he collected cans and bottles to cash in at one of the local supermarkets. The tricycle was his only means of transportation and he counted on the money he earned from cans and bottle returns to buy him his meals. His was a simple life, said his many friends, most of whom were business people in the commercial centers of Sandy Hook and Newtown who experienced Mr Ready’s generosity of spirit firsthand.

People who work along Church Hill Road came to know Mr Ready well, and they watched over him, even as he watched over them. Those who did not know Bill Ready, according to many of his friends, might not have realized how observant he was, or of how astutely aware of the goings-on in town he was, but business owners in Sandy Hook Center counted on Mr Ready to keep them on top of the behind-the-scenes news.

“Billy Ready was a friend to downtown Sandy Hook,” said longtime acquaintance Mike Kerler of Sandy Hook Wine & Liquor. “He took care of all the flowers in the Center, he would help with making the Christmas decorations and wreaths. I’d see Bill every day when I’d come to work and he would tell me everything that was going on in the Center. He knew everybody and everything and he never had a bad word about anyone. He was such a part of Sandy Hook. We’re really going to miss him,” Mr Kerler said.

Mike Burton, co-owner of the plaza at 102 Church Hill Road, had known Mr Ready for ten years. “Bill was a big help to me and my partner, Bill Raymond. He was always willing to help out. He would take care of the flowers on the bridge or in the planters. The beauty he left behind in Sandy Hook will always be there,” said Mr Burton.

 “We are very sad that Bill passed,” said Katherine Pineau, owner of Katherine’s Kitchen, also in Sandy Hook Center. “He was a big part of every day, stopping in here to get breakfast or lunch. In just the nine months I’ve been open here, Bill touched not only myself, but my family and everyone who worked here. He was a part of us. He was a kind soul.”

Another longtime friend of Mr Ready’s is George Lockwood, Jr, who owned By George Deli in the Center from the late 1980s to the mid-90s. “Billy just rode his bike up and walked in one day. I gave him a cup of coffee and some lunch and he kept coming back. He loved his coffee,” Mr Lockwood said. “One day I asked him if he could make the coffee to save me going back and forth behind the counter to do that, so after that, he would make the coffee for me.”

Mr Ready was always willing to help him out when Catering By George had a big event and Mr Lockwood paid him back by making sure he always had a meal. Mr Lockwood said that he could count on Mr Ready, whose nickname was Yo, to help set up at the big picnics. “He would do anything anyone would ask. He was always nice, and even if he did get mad, he didn’t ever hold a grudge. He was like a part of the family,” said Mr Lockwood.

Mr Ready’s neighbors and friends in Sandy Hook took it upon themselves to look after their special friend in numerous ways. In 2005, when the miles of travel took its toll upon Mr Ready’s tricycle, local businesses collected donations to replace the wobbly three-wheeler with a new, broad-wheeled version. It took just three weeks for enough money to be raised, for even those who knew him only as the cheerful “Tricycle Man” were gladly willing to donate to the cause.

 “Not many of us do things without hidden intentions. [Yo] did, and I will miss him forever,” said Bonnie Fredericks, owner of The Hair Company in Sandy Hook Center. Many people would have known him only as the guy biking up and down the road with a bag of cans on the back of his bike, said Ms Fredericks, but really knowing Mr Ready was a privilege. “I and a few others were fortunate enough to know him, and blessed to be a part of his life. He was not just a man, but to many, a symbol. He had no other intentions than just pure, simple, honest friendship.”

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bill Halstead remembered how Mr Ready often stopped by the firehouse on Riverside Road to visit. “The Shriners collect soda can tabs as a fundraiser and we have been doing that here at the firehouse,” said Chief Halstead. “Yo would save the tabs from the cans he collected and bring them down to us. I think everybody is going to miss him. He was a really nice guy and well-liked by everybody.”

It was at the firehouse in Sandy Hook that the man who would become one of Mr Ready’s closest friends met the gentle cyclist. Anthony Capozziello is the assistant chief with the department and became acquainted with Mr Ready there.

“I first met him when he would stop in at the firehouse to visit. He enjoyed being around people and going to parties at the Sandy Hook Fire Department,” remembered Mr Capozziello.

“Yo!” was how Mr Ready responded to salutations from his friends as he rode his bright yellow tricycle around town, and the nickname stuck, said Mr Capozziello.

When Mr Ready’s sister, with whom he shared a home, moved to Florida, Mr Capozziello and his wife, Tina, opened their home on Sunnyview Terrace to him.

“We had an in-law apartment and he shared it with my father-in-law, Butch Piccirillo. That was in 1999. We all lived together there for seven years until my family and I moved two doors down, to a house I built on the lot where his sister’s house had been. Then my father-in-law and Yo moved upstairs.”

Mr Capozziello came to be a sort of unofficial caretaker of the uncomplicated denizen of Sandy Hook Center. “He would come to me whenever he had questions, I helped him with his finances, that sort of thing. I had a place in my heart for him,” said Mr Capozziello.

The last time Mr Capozziello saw Yo Ready was at the Sandy Hook tree lighting on December 1. “He was very happy. He had a big smile on his face. That’s how I’ll remember him.”

Mr Ready is survived by two sisters, Florence Allen of Port Orange, Fla., and Dolores Ready of Fairfield; several nieces and nephews; and his many friends in Sandy Hook.

Funeral and memorial services were December 5 at Honan Funeral Home, Newtown, with Father Robert Weiss officiating. At the memorial service, Father Bob urged those in attendance to remember Bill, “who was happy just to have his bottles and his bicycle,” and for “his simplicity and goodness.” Interment was private.

Donations are being accepted at Katherine’s Kitchen, 102 Church Hill Road, Sandy Hook, to cover burial costs.

The Newtown Bee        December 7, 2007