Rev. Philip Ryan

Rev. Philip Ryan died on March 17, 2026, at around 5:30 pm.

His funeral service will be held in Brooklyn, IA. The visitation and wake service will be held at Smith Funeral Home in Brooklyn. Visitation will be held from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sunday, March 22nd with the wake service at 5:00 pm. The funeral Mass will be at St. Patrick Catholic Church on Monday, March 23 at 11:00 am. The Most Reverend Dennis Walsh, the Bishop of Davenport, will be leading the service with priests of the Diocese concelebrating. Burial will follow the Mass in the parish cemetery. A funeral luncheon will be served back at the church.

Memorials may be made payable to Calvary Cemetery, mailed in c/o Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 368, Grinnell, IA.

Rev. Philip, the last of five children of Clinton and Rose (Hansen) Ryan was born in Evanston, IL on April 28, 1931. The family moved to Brooklyn in 1936. He attended Brooklyn Public School K-12 and graduated in 1949. That September he enrolled at St. Ambrose College and graduated in 1953. He attended Mount Saint Bernard Seminary in Dubuque from 1953-1957.

On June 1, 1957, he was ordained a priest by the Most Reverend Ralph L. Hayes in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. That day was also the 36th wedding anniversary of his parents.

Rev. Philip had three assignments as an assistant priest: St. Alphonsus in Mt. Pleasant, Sacred Heart in Fort Madison and St. Irenaeus in Clinton. He served as pastor for four parishes: St. Anthony in Knoxville, Sacred Heart in Melcher-Dallas, St. Mary in Sigourney and later including Our Lady of Lourdes in Keswick. Upon reaching the age of 75 he officially retired from pastoral ministry. He returned to his hometown and has lived there ever since.

Rev. Philip is preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Thomas, Jerome, and James, and a sister, Joan Heath.