Monday, May 07, 2007

Marjorie E. Ryan, widow of Tom, dies

BARBERTON -- Marjorie E. Ryan, 85, passed away May 5, 2007 at Doylestown Health Care Center.

Born in Akron, she had been a Barberton resident most of her life and was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church where she was active with the choir, Altar Society and Holy Hour program. She also enjoyed collectibles and baby dolls.

Preceded in death by her husband, Tom; son, Bill; and daughter, Donna Gadel; Survivors include her sons, Frank "Buddy", Michael (Dana), Jim (Cheryl) and Shawn all of Barberton; grandchildren, Jeff (Desirea) Gadel, Dawn Gadel, and Michael, Kelley, Eric, Jeremy and Kalley Ryan; two great-grandchildren; brother, Dick Fahrer; and sister, Pat Eisenhut.

Funeral Service will be held Wednesday, 10 a.m. at SILVA-HOSTETLER FUNERAL HOME, 1199 Wooster Rd. W. Private Family Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery. Calling Hours Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m.

[The Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, Monday, May 7, 2007, page B5, col. 3]

Marjorie was the wife of veteran Beacon Journal reporter Tom Ryan. She had been hospitalized for years.

Tom Ryan died February 9, 1985 at age 64 of cancer after a short illness. The lead on his obituary said simply “Tom Ryan was a newspaperman.” The obituary writer noted further: “Hundreds and hundreds of Akron area people knew this man. When he covered Barberton for the Beacon Journal, Tom Ryan got more news going to Mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church or on a Ryan shopping trip than most reporters did in a whole week.”

Their son, John William “Bill” Ryan, died in Venice, Florida in May, 2005.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My favorite Tom Ryan story, because of the irony, is that Tom survived the D-Day landing ("You just told yourself you were a dead man, then went ashore," Tom once said) but, when he went back for, I think, the 30th anniversary of the Normandy landing, Tom was mugged in Paris.

I can never think of Tom without seeing the ever-present cigaret dangling from his mouth. He would have the entire length of the cigaret in ash without any dropping off. I never did figure out how he did that.