William P. Ryan

William Peter Ryan, 77, of Stafford Drive, Council Bluffs, Iowa, died in Council Bluffs on Monday, Jan. 7, 2008.
Born in Adams on April 6, 1930, he was a son of William H. and Mary (Coussoule) Ryan. He attended Adams schools and graduated from the former Adams High School in 1948. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.
Later, he entered the Army, serving with a unit in Korea when he became affiliated with an air wing. He was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant.
Returning to civilian life, he was with the General Electric’s toolmakers’ segment in Pittsfield where he successfully completed its courses. Later on in his career, he took a position with Sprague Electric, North Adams, as the industrial plant engineer for five years. He then was employed as manager of manufacturing engineering at Borg Instruments/ Bunker Ramo Corp. in Delavan, Wisc., for which he traveled throughout Europe and the U.S.
He then moved to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where he was plant manager of facilities and operations for the Bloomfield School District until 1977, when he relocated to Minnesota, accepting a job with Hennepin County as director of property management. He served there for 11 years until accepting a position at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minn., where he was employed for several years. He moved to Council Bluffs and worked as a first vice president of building facilities and services for Mutual of Omaha Corp. He retired from that position in the mid-1990s.
He also had owned and managed the Busy Beaver Laundromat in Adams.
He was formerly a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and American Legion Post 160 in Adams.
He enjoyed antique and classic cars, photography, history and politics. He loved traveling in Mexico and watching a good movie. He was known for developing gadgets to solve everyday problems and was a tinkerer. He loved his days in Adams and anything American.
His wife, the former Eleanor Remillard, with whom he had five children, is deceased. His second wife, the former LuAnne Dickerson, is also deceased. His third wife, the former Connie French, died in 1999.
He leaves three sons, William Peter Ryan Jr. of Boston, and Timothy Ryan and Christopher Ryan, both of North Adams; two daughters, Holly (Ryan) Moore of St. Paul and Mary Del Ryan of Michigan; two sons-in-law, William G. Moore and Randy Greenlee; three grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and his partner of four years, Patty Richardson of Iowa.

FUNERAL NOTICE -- A funeral service for William Ryan will be held Saturday, Jan. 26, 11 a.m., in St. Mark’s Church, Adams. Burial in Bellevue Cemetery, Adams, will follow.
Calling hours are Saturday, from 9 to10:30 a.m., at the McBride Funeral Home, Adams.