OLD LYME, CT / TUCSON, ARIZ. —Hubert William (“Bill”) Ryan passed away on Saturday, September 21, 2019. He was surrounded by his family, including his wife of 67 years, Emily, and his four children, Peg, Mike, Suzanne, and Pat, at his home in Tucson, Arizona.
Bill was born in New London, Connecticut to Hubert William Ryan and Marguerite Boylan Ryan in July of 1928. Bill was predeceased by his youngest sister, Mary Carlin Hall of Mystic, Connecticut and is survived by his younger sister, Sarah Mary Ryan, of New London, Connecticut. He is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.
Bill graduated from the Bulkeley School in New London in 1946. Proud to be a “Bulkeley Boy”, he faithfully attended many of the annual school reunions on the first Friday in August until his last one in 2016.
He enlisted in the Army in 1947 and served in Okinawa, Guam and Shanghai, China. In 1949 he joined the US Air National Guard where he served on bases in the US and overseas, including Alabama, Korea, Nevada, Germany, England, and Saudi Arabia. He remained in the military until 1984 when he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel with 38 years of service.
As a young man, he worked for the family owned Redden & Ryan Insurance Company in downtown New London for 16 years starting in 1949. Emily and Bill were married in 1952, and they raised their family in Old Lyme, Connecticut where they lived for almost 30 years. In the mid-1970s, they moved to Andrews Air Force base in Maryland and eventually retired to central Florida. There, they ran a small computer consulting business and enjoyed their world travels. After 23 years in Florida, they moved to Tucson, Arizona where they found great wine tasting friends but no tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes.
In retirement, Bill and Emily traveled the world and spent many happy hours together planning each trip. They helped restore a medieval village and castle, La Sabranenque, located at Saint Victor la Coste in southern France, built a home for Habitat for Humanity on the island of Vanuatu off the east coast of Australia and helped release red foxes and black footed ferrets into the wild in Montana. They visited France, Mexico, Peru (the Amazon and Machu Pichu), Greece, Ireland, Germany, England, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Portugal, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Costa Rica, Belize, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Canada, New England, California, the San Juan Islands in Washington, Copper Canyon in Mexico, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Morocco. Sometimes, a selection of children and grandchildren were invited on these unforgettable journeys.
Our husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather leaves us a legacy of living up to our word and helping people in need. His word was his bond. If he said it, he would do it. We will always keep him in our hearts, and we will strive to live up to his example.