Funeral arrangements have been announced for longtime Sandy Hook Fire Chief William Halstead, who died Friday shortly after returning from a call.
Calling Hours tomorrow are from 5pm to 8pm at Honan Funeral Home on Main Street. The funeral home parking lot will be limited to family and those who need assistance walking and otherwise entering the building. All others will be asked to park behind Edmond Town Hall. Newtown Police Department officers and others will help pedestrians with safe passage crossing Main Street. They will also be assisting with traffic control. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.
A Funeral Mass Friday will be held at St Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church at 10:30am. Carpooling is again strongly encouraged. Apparatus is discouraged, again due to expected parking congestion. A Mass shuttle for out of Town companies will be available from Sandy Hook School to St Rose Church. Buses will leave at 10 am sharp. Buses will also provide service to St Rose Cemetery after the funeral and then return to SHVFR’s main station following the conclusion of services at the cemetery. Visiting fire companies are asked to not bring apparatus, to enter the funeral home as a group and present a salute together.
Following the Mass, the procession will travel east on Church Hill Road into Sandy Hook Center, and then onto Riverside Road. The procession will then continue east on Riverside Road, to Cherry Street. It will then travel north on Cherry Street, stopping at the intersection of Cherry Street and Black Cherry Lane. Mourners will enter the cemetery from Black Cherry Lane. Personal vehicles will not be allowed into the cemetery during the service. Parking assistance will be guided by police at the cemetery.
Residents should expect delays and extended travel time along the route
Over his long career, Chief Halstead worked for the State of Connecticut at Fairfield Hills Hospital, serving with the fire department there for 25 years. He was chief of the hospital’s fire department until his retirement in 1997. He also served as Deputy Fire Marshal for the Town of Newtown from 1983 to 2001, when he became the full-time Fire Marshal. He served in that position until his retirement in 2016. He additionally served as Newtown’s Emergency Management Director for 23 years.
