Brother Edmund Wallace Ryan

Br. Edmund W. (Wally) Ryan, S.J.

Resident of Los Gatos

Brother Edmund Wallace Ryan, S.J., 83, died September 30, 2010 in Regis Infirmary, Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos. He was a Jesuit Brother for 59 years.

Wally was born June 4, 1927 in Sioux City, Iowa, the third child of Leo and Margaret Ryan. The family moved westward, first to Kansas City, MO, and then to Colton, California. He attended San Bernardino Valley College, 1946-48, studying business administration and then took a job as a salesman in a clothing store, first in Sacramento, and then Oakland.

He had been considering the religious life for some time and answered a magazine ad promoting vocations to the Jesuit Brothers. He was accepted as a postulant and arrived at Sacred Heart Novitiate, Los Gatos, on May 30, 1951. Upon completion of the novitiate training in December 1953, Wally served as buyer for the novitiate community and as an assistant in the Novitiate Winery office, where he took charge of production control records.

In 1958 Wally began a long association with Bellarmine College Preparatory, remaining there for forty seven years. His primary work was as manager of the "Co-Op" store, which supplied the students with food, drink, and the other necessities of school life. He also managed the athletic equipment for the teams, coached baseball, and in the days when Bellarmine had boarding students, served as dorm prefect as well.

Sports, especially baseball, were Wally's passion. He was a good and highly successful coach, working with the freshmen (1960-63) and junior varsity (1964-76) teams, developing players for Bellarmine's varsity. The school newspaper reported that Wally "worked tirelessly with his boys, making many excellent players out of average ones, and super-stars out of excellent ballplayers." His JV's won many league championships and once had a 38 game winning streak.

He was well loved by the students and greatly admired by faculty and coaches. The yearbook noted, "There isn't a day most Bellarmine students won't run into Brother Ryan, whether it is at the co-op for a morning snack, at the baseball field for an afternoon workout, or at the dorm in the evening."

With his health failing, Wally retired to Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in May 2005, praying for the Church and Society, and keeping up with the events at BCP through a steady stream of visits by coaches and alumni.

Upon his golden jubilee as a Jesuit in 2001, Wally reflected on his life as a Brother: "I realize the great debt of gratitude that I owe to God and my family, my fellow Jesuits and my Bellarmine familyYears of association with my fellow Jesuits, the faculty, staff, and especially the students, has been spiritually fulfilling and a great joy to my life."

Wally is survived by his sisters, Colleen (Leo) Beel of San Diego, Kathy (Art) Duran of Palmdale, Terri (Bill) Surratt of Rockhill, SC, nephew, Bill Lane, of Redondo Beach and many other nieces and nephews.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Wednesday, October 6, 7:00 p.m. at the Leontyne Chapel, Bellarmine College Preparatory, 960 Hedding Street, San Jose 95126. Please park in the school lots off Hedding Street. Interment Thursday, October 7, 10:00 a.m., Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, 490 Lincoln Street, Santa Clara 95050. Donations in memory of Br. Ryan may be made to the California Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031. Darling Fischer Chapel of the Hills, Los Gatos, CA