Whether at the Dorset Quarry on a summer afternoon, cheering from the sidelines at a Burr and Burton game, or grabbing Saturday sandwiches at the Dorset Union Store, Ryan and Christy Downey and their four daughters, Mylee (22), Kaelin (20), Ella (17), and Piper (15), are woven into this community.

Ryan was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and moved to East Dorset in 1985 with his mother Barbara, stepfather Frank, and stepbrother Jeremy Sanderson. Christy O’Leary (Downey) was born and raised right here in Dorset. Christy, Kaelin, Ella, and Piper are all 7th generation Vermonters. Mylee was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while Ryan was stationed there in the Navy, and moved to Dorset at six months old.

Ryan and Christy’s story began in Mrs. Bowen’s first grade classroom at Dorset Elementary School. Ryan was “a bit of a class clown,” while Christy was “somewhat a teacher’s pet.” They joke the school paired them to have Christy calm Ryan down, although Ryan says it was to “spice her up.” They both graduated from Burr & Burton Seminary in 1997. Christy later earned a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in English from Union College.

Ryan served seven years in the U.S. Navy as an Air Traffic Controller, stationed aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt from 1998 to 2001 in Norfolk, Virginia, deploying to the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf from 1998 to 2001, before reenlisting and receiving orders to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He and Christy were married at the United Church of Dorset and East Rupert shortly before relocating to Hawaii.

After returning home in 2004, Ryan worked as a land surveyor at Speath Engineering while Christy taught preschool at the Lawrence School. Licensed as a Vermont Professional Land Surveyor and Site Designer in 2014, Ryan opened Point of Beginning Land Surveying & Consulting, Inc., in Dorset that same year.

A strong believer in civil service, Ryan served on the Dorset Selectboard and was the Town’s Animal Control Officer for over eight years. In 2019, he purchased the historic Dorset Marble Quarry and spent two years transforming the swimming hole into what we see today, with the goal of making it “as good or better than it once was” for the community.

Christy retired from the Lawrence School in 2022 and began a new career as a substitute teacher at Dorset Elementary School, where she currently works. She also fosters community spirit by volunteering at the parent level for most, if not all, of the sporting events the girls are part of.

All four Downey girls attended Dorset Elementary and Burr and Burton Academy, earning the distinction of being 4th generation BBA students. Mylee will soon graduate from McGill University with a degree in Elementary Education and TESL. Kaelin, a 2024 BBA graduate, is studying Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of Connecticut. Ella is a junior at BBA, and Piper is a freshman.

The girls participate in year-round sports: ice hockey, dance, lacrosse, field hockey, basketball, soccer, swim team, and track. They’re also involved in organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Yellow Tulip, Morgan’s Message, and Be Brave for Life.

Family traditions run deep with the Downeys. One Easter, they hosted 54 people, 38 from Christy’s side, with only four from outside Dorset/Manchester. Christmas morning usually includes at least 11 people around the tree, and every year at 8:00 a.m. sharp, Ryan calls his parents and rings a special bell given to him when he was first born. In the summer, Sunday dinners and BBQs at home are the perfect way to end the week, often followed by the “Downey Drive-In,” where friends and family gather to watch a movie projected on the side of the house, usually with a bonfire in the background. The Fourth of July is spent at the family camp on Timouth Pond, followed by fireworks at Manchester Rec Park.

Ask the Downeys about favorite memories, and they’ll mention Halloween and tractor parades around the Dorset Green, rides on the fire trucks, and the fishing derby at the Dorset Mill Pond. But some of their most unforgettable memories came during COVID. From themed family nights to the now-famous Downey Drive-In (complete with cardboard box cars crafted from refrigerator boxes) to hosting a socially distanced 8th grade graduation at the Quarry, the Downeys found creative ways to keep the community connected.

“For us,” they say, “living in Dorset, especially during that time, allowed us to be closer as a family.”