Ralph W. Tryon

1949 - 2023

TRYON

RALPH W. TRYON

Ralph Worthen Tryon died peacefully at home in Silver Spring, Maryland, on June 30, 2023, after living for at least 20 years with Parkinson's disease. He was 73 years old. He was born on December 26, 1949, in Ithaca, New York, to the late John and Helen (Muenscher) Tryon. They raised Ralph and his younger brother Peter in a household that valued science, rationality, and thrift. When Ralph was eight the family moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, and Ralph maintained lifelong pride in his Alaska connection.



After graduating from Swarthmore College, Ralph took a job at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, where he met his future wife, Maida Schifter, at a party. Ralph and Maida modeled a marriage of commitment and love through life's joys and challenges and they were married for just shy of 50 years. Ralph earned a PhD in economics from MIT and spent his entire career in the International Finance group at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. It was his dream job and he made many good friends there. He retired for health reasons earlier than he would have otherwise.



Ralph loved Bach and Bob Dylan, Jane Austen and Shakespeare, the outdoors, holiday gatherings, stories with happy endings, and his family. He took weekly piano lessons for decades as an adult and found great pleasure in playing. He spoke often of his family's river-rafting trips in the West and in his fifties fulfilled his longtime dream of rafting in the Grand Canyon. He treasured his close friendships, many decades-long. A Unitarian for most of his life, he converted to Judaism in his sixties and found community and a sense of belonging with the Am Kolel Jewish Community. He faced his diagnosis, at a relatively young age, with stoicism and bravery.



Ralph is survived by his wife Maida, brother Pete, son Nathan, daughter Amy, son-in-law Ethan, and grandson Sam. Burial will be Monday, July 3, at 10 a.m. at Judean Memorial Gardens in Olney, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Parkinson's Foundation of the National Capital Area or The Michael J. Fox Foundation.