Joseph J. Ryan Sr.

Ryan, Joseph J. Sr. CHATEAUGAY, N.Y. Pearl Harbor survivor and retired Franklin County District Attorney, the Hon. Joseph J. Ryan, Sr., passed away December 7, 2007. As all warriors deserve to, he died at home in his sleep. He was 90, and just the day before, received news that he was a great-grandfather. Born in Pittsford, N.Y. on December 8, 1917, Ryan grew up in the Bronx, and spent summers on the family farm in Chateaugay. After high school, he worked as a "sand hog", building the Aqueduct Tunnels that supply water to New York City. In 1941, he enlisted in the United States Navy, and subsequently assigned to Pearl Harbor, where he was stationed when the Japanese Sneak Attack occurred. He served the duration of World War II in the South Pacific as a Radioman First Class on the USS Denver, a light cruiser that saw heavy action in 11 major sea battles, was torpedoed, and earned the Presidential Unit Citation. In 1942, he married his childhood sweetheart, Harriet Harrigan of Chateaugay. It's interesting to note that he, a Pearl Harbor Survivor, was on leave and in Times Square on V-J Day, when the Japanese formally surrendered. After the war, Mr. Ryan attended Paul Smith's College in Saranac Lake, graduating with the Class of 1949; and he earned his law degree from Boston University Law School in 1952. Passing both the Mass. and N.Y. State Bar Exams, he returned to Saranac Lake as an attorney with the Law Offices of Hayward "Red" Plumadore. In 1955, he joined the Legal Department of 5th Avenue Coach/Surface Transit in New York City. In 1962, he moved his family back to Chateaugay, where he built his law practice as a "Country Lawyer". From 1965 through 1975 he served as the first public defender of Franklin County, and then in 1976 was elected District Attorney, a position he held until his retirement in 1984. At age 68, he realized his life-long dream of becoming a pilot, by earning his FAA student pilot's license, and he continued to fly airplanes until age 73. His years of community service include: Chateaugay Town Councilman, Commander of the Chateaugay American Legion, and Grand Knight of the Chateaugay Knights of Columbus. At the time of his death, Mr. Ryan was the senior member of the Franklin County Bar Association, and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States. At the national level, he served as General Counsel of the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Association. In 2004, Mr. Ryan was pre-deceased by his wife of 62 years, Harriet Harrigan Ryan. He is survived by their two sons, Joe and wife Daisy, of Buchanan, N.Y., and Dennis and wife Barbara, of Clifton Park, N.Y.; three grandchildren, Jeremiah Ryan of Long Island, Jennifer and husband Matt DiPietro of Long Island, and Leah Benson of Mountville, Pa. and his great-grandson, born on December 6, Jonathan Ryan DiPietro of Long Island. Calling hours will be at the Chateaugay Funeral Home on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9. A funeral mass with full military honors will be held Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church in Chateaugay, immediately followed by an Irish Wake at the American Legion. In lieu of flowers, the Ryan family encourages donations to the U.S.O., and asks people to please go out of their way to do something nice for a Veteran.