Tom Ryan

News Obituary Article

ALPHARETTA: Tom Ryan, 54, worked with eating disorders

By HOLLY CRENSHAW

Tom Ryan devoted his life to food distribution, then agonized as one of his daughters wasted away from an eating disorder.

The irony wasn't lost on the former executive, whose 19-year-old daughter, Merrick Ryan, plummeted to 88 pounds before she died from an overdose of antidepressants on Jan. 10, 2000.

"He used to say, 'For the love of God, Merrick, I'm distributing food and feeding the world, and you won't even take a bite,' " said his wife, Helen Rose Ryan of Alpharetta.

"It was so hard for him because his personality was, 'I'm the caregiver, I'm the provider, I'm going to make everything right.' That's how he was for all of us --- 'You need it, I'll get it for you.' "

Thomas W. Ryan, 54, of Alpharetta died of a heart attack Friday at St. Joseph's Hospital. The funeral Mass is at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Brigid's Catholic Church. Roswell Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Ryan grew up on Long Island, N.Y., earned a master's degree in business administration from Pace University and moved to metro Atlanta in 1989. He spent 20 years working for AmeriCold Logistics, URS Logistics and ES3 before he was laid off last year.

After his daughter's death, Mr. Ryan and his wife established Merrick's Walk to help pay medical bills for people with eating disorders. The 2005 event raised about $25,000, Mrs. Ryan said.

In a 2001 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, Mr. Ryan said, "Despite the values and the sense of self we instilled in her, it got her. I feel so inadequate, so helpless to think that there are so many young women out there who reduce their life to the size of their body."

The fifth annual Merrick's Walk, held in conjunction with the Eating Disorders Information Network, is scheduled for Feb. 27 at the Galloway School.

"Our colleague was just saying he thought Tom was the most knowledgeable logistics and warehouse guy he knew, and Tom brought a lot of those managerial and logistical skills to the forefront with the walk," said his friend Fred Beilstein of Atlanta.

Mrs. Ryan said that, in the past few years, her husband changed from the classic buttoned-down executive he'd always been --- even buying himself a jet-black 2003 Harley-Davidson Dyna Glide.

"It was the biggest joke, because he was Mr. Proper," she said. "He never wore anything but white dress shirts for years, and it was huge when we finally got him into a light blue shirt.

"The Harley was so unlike this man, and it was so loud that the house would rock when he started it in the garage. We still haven't gotten over the fact that this straight-laced individual had this insanity about him."

After he was laid off, Mr. Ryan got a kick out of helping his wife, a speech therapist, make theme-related treats --- such as cat cupcakes --- for her classes.

"He made all 40 cupcakes and sliced up the chocolate chunks for ears and was so organized that he had all the pretzel sticks laid out in baggies in order for the whiskers," she said.

His other daughter, Sara Rose Ryan of Alpharetta, said, "He was always very loving and accepting, but after Merrick's death he hung onto me even more.

"I had black and pink hair and wore boy's jeans for years, and I was still his little girl. And he would always make sure to tell me and Mom how beautiful we were, regardless of anything."

Survivors include his father, James J. Ryan of Northville, Mich.; his mother, Kathryn Saleh of New York City; two sisters, Marianne Swanson and Rosemary DeGrado, both of Greenwich, Conn.; and two brothers, James E. Ryan of New York City and William Ryan of Pennington, N.J.

© 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution