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Lawrence Ryan Obituary
June 22, 1923 – November 23, 2019
Lawrence Vincent Ryan passed away on November 23, 2019 at the Forum Retirement Community in Cupertino, California. He was 96 years old and was predeceased by Patricia Ann Ryan his wife of 70 years. The son of Thomas and Marguerite Ryan, he was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he earned his B.A. in English from the College of St. Thomas. He received his PhD in English at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.Larry is survived by his four children: Katrina, Lawrence (Peggy), Gregory (Martha) and Mary Ryan, and by his four grandchildren, Gregory, Christina Trevor (Jimmy), Maggie Curley (Erik) and Michael, and his great granddaughter, Roxanne.
During World War II he was a first Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and was injured in the battle of Iwo Jima. Larry joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1952, where he had a long and distinguished career as Professor, scholar and administrator until his retirement in 1988. Upon retirement he taught at the Fromm Institute in San Francisco and led many Stanford Alumni trips to Europe.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 14th at St. Simon Catholic Church in Los Altos, immediately followed by a Celebration of Life Reception at The Forum in Cupertino. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in his name to St. Elizabeth Seton School in Palo Alto.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Lawrence Ryan
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3 Entries
December 11, 2019
My dear and darling Ryan family,
I thought of both of your parents today as you laid Papa Ryan to rest. His was a glorious life filled with a wife he loved, children and grandchildren he adored and a mind full of scholarship and a sweet wit. He also loved Casanueva Place. What a marvelous childhood was had there. Larry grew the best roses, and apricot brandy. He was in Firenze when I fell in love with my husband, Chris, fifty years ago. I loved seeing him as my professor for those six monthes and realized why he was beloved in the Humanities department at Stanford.
I am thinking of each one of you, Katie, Larry, Greg, and Mary Pat, as you march through these arches of loss. The lives both of your parents touched all of us at 939 and we join you in the sadness of losing them.
So, a glass will be raised tonight in their honor in Memphis. From an old friend and neighbor, Kate Duignan
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Debby Nosowsky
December 8, 2019
It was with great sadness that I read this morning of the death of Professor Ryan. He was a beloved and irreplaceable teacher at the Fromm Institute for Lifelong Learning. I can still his his beautiful voice reading Dante to us in Italian so we could get a real sense of the besuty and music of the poetry. His Shakespeare classes in preparation for visits to Ashland were unforgettable. He was gentle and kind and humorous and wise. He lives on in the memory of those of us who were fortunate enough to be enrolled in his classes
Colleen Quinn
December 5, 2019
Dear Ryan Family,
Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Grandpa Larry shared his love of education and inspired future teachers. We are grateful for a life well lived!
Sincerely,
The Quinn Family
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