Ryan Buckheit

Ryan John Buckheit - OBITUARY

Ryan John Buckheit, 36, of Austin, Texas passed away on February 6, 2025 due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. Born in Bryn Mawr, PA on September 10, 1988, Ryan was the beloved son of John and Kricia (Rogala) Buckheit of Exton, PA and the brother of Kaitlyn Buckheit, brother-in-law of Andrew Matasic and uncle to their young daughter. He was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, John T. and Veronica Buckheit and maternal grandparents, Michael and Alice Rogala. A graduate of Malvern Preparatory School and Carnegie Mellon University, Ryan held B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Information Systems. After college Ryan moved to Palo Alto, CA and worked as a computer software engineer at Palantir Technologies, Plaid, Google and Figma. Most recently Ryan lived in Austin, Texas.

Ryan was diagnosed with M.S. in 2017 and worked relentlessly to research and pursue optimal medical treatment via every possible avenue. In 2023 Ryan underwent a bone marrow transplant known as HSCT (Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation) at the Cleveland Clinic after finally receiving the go ahead on his third attempt to do so. Unfortunately when accepted for the transplant, Ryan was no longer an ideal candidate and his health quickly deteriorated after the procedure. Despite all of this sadness, Ryan truly lived his life well and there is so much we can learn from him. He pushed boundaries in every aspect of his life and only took jobs at companies and in roles that he was excited about and tremendously interested in. Ryan had many close friends and pursued many hobbies such as fishing, car racing, playing board games, hiking and was very committed and passionate about all of them. Ryan will be remembered for the risks he took, his difficult undertakings, for taking aim at the positive things in life and for choosing to build a meaningful life in spite of pain, illness and suffering. His philosophy was to take steps forward and do things he was afraid to do and to always challenge his limitations.

In addition to his parents, sister, brother-in-law and niece, Ryan will be incredibly missed by his aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and work colleagues. Ryan's parents and sister would like to thank an amazing circle of friends and relatives for all their love and support during this devastating time. A celebration of life has not yet been planned.

It was Ryan's profound wish that HSCT be offered to patients with MS as the first line of treatment to halt the progression of the disease. The Buckheit family would like to thank the Scripps Health Foundation for their guidance in setting up a fund to financially support patients with MS seeking HSCT who lack the requisite insurance coverage or other financial resources. Ryan's family requests that memorial gifts be designated to HSCT Multiple Sclerosis Charity Care at Scripps Health. Memorials can be made online at Scripps.org/RyanJohnBuckheit or mailed to the Scripps Health Foundation, address listed below. Checks should be made out to Scripps Health Foundation.

Scripps Health Foundation

P.O. Box 2669

La Jolla, CA 92038

844-442-4483 (GIVE)

Scripps.org/RyanJohnBuckheit