Roy Tidmarsh, owner of Tidmarsh’s Home Bake Shop on Westfield Avenue, died Monday at Griffin Hospital in Derby.
Tidmarsh served the community many ways, from tax board chairman to volunteer firefighter.
But it was his kindness as a person — and his renown as a baker — that meant he “was more than just a colleague” to many who worked with him in his volunteer roles, said state Rep. Jason Perillo, the executive director of Valley Emergency Medical Services (VEMS), where Tidmarsh was a longtime board member.
“He was a friend,” Perillo said in an email. “Roy baked my wedding cake. Just before Christmas he gave my two-year-old daughter a candy cane almost taller than she was. He was a very generous man and those of us who knew him will miss him very much.”
His comments were echoed by hundreds of his neighbors on the Valley Indy’s Facebook page Monday. Residents remembered the wedding cake he created for them, or how he would give kids an extra chocolate treat when they visited his office after getting a vaccination at the doctor’s office next to his business.
Click the embedded image below to read the memories.
Posted by Valley Independent Sentinel on Monday, January 25, 2016
Tidmarsh fell ill at his store at about 11:45 a.m. and required emergency medical attention.
Tidmarsh, a city sheriff since 2013, was also a member of Eagle Hose Hook & Ladder Co. No. 6.
On Facebook, Eagle Hose Capt. Craig Smart asked members to keep the Tidmarsh family in their prayers.
In addition, Tidmarsh was a former chairman of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, the volunteer group that provides fiscal guidance to the city.
“He devoted himself to making Ansonia a better place and he achieved that,” Mayor David Cassetti said in a prepared statement. “His family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers. Roy will be missed.”
At VEMS, Tidmarsh served as a “backbone” of the organization for decades, Perillo said.
“He was with VEMS from its inception in 1984 and was one of its first Board members,” Perillo said. “Valley residents are safer because of Roy’s hard work and commitment over the years.”
“Whether driving to a 911 call in the middle of the night or dressing up as Santa for the kids at Christmas, Roy was incredibly dedicated to public service in the Valley,” Perillo said. “He will be deeply missed by all of us who knew him and served with him at VEMS.”
Tidmarsh, a graduate of the Culintary Institute of America, opened his shop in 1976.
In an age of mass production and big box stores, Tidmarsh’s Home Bake Shop stood out as a successful small business.
“A Tidmarsh cake is a celebration itself,” the shop’s website reads.
Joan Radin, a Fifth Ward Alderman and owner of a Lear Pharmacy on Wakelee Avenue, said she was shocked Monday when a customer told her about his death.
Tidmarsh was a great guy, and long active in Republican politics when few others in Ansonia were, Radin said.
“He was very well liked and well respected,” she said, praising Tidmarsh setting aside time for civic work while running a business.
Judy Larkin-Nicolari, the former chair of the local Republican party, said Tidmarsh will be missed by many.
“I found Roy to have his ideas and opinions but was very quiet in voicing them and when he did, you knew he was very fair minded,” Larkin-Nicolari said. “He will truly be missed not only in Ansonia and on Westfield Avenue where his business is, but throughout the entire Valley.”
