Edward Joseph Ryan
August 24, 1927 – February 16, 2020
Edward Joseph Ryan was born on August 24, 1927. His parents were Joseph and Eva (Zang) Ryan. He was born in the home of his grandparents, Adam and Amelia Zang, on Bird Street in South Baltimore.
He is survived by his granddaughter, Heather Ryan, who lives in Texas with her husband, Mike, and their four children, Mr. Ryan’s great grandchildren, Clayton, Steven Edward, Caterina and Keegan, a great-great granddaughter, Emma. Mr. Ryan is also survived by a grandson, Michael Ryan,who lives in Texas,his son Cain and daughter Kyndrah, two sisters-in-law Ida Fick and Jean Jones, several nieces and nephews, and three life-long friends Jim Gabler of Florida, Bill Kemp of Catonsville, MD and Phyllis Lewis of Glen Burnie, MD.
He attended PS#84 – Thomas Johnson Elementary School and Southern High School. After completing the eleventh grade, he enlisted in the Navy and served in the South Pacific in the closing months of World War II. Discharged during the summer, 1946, he reenrolled at Southern High School and graduated in 1947. During his senior year, he met Dorothy Houghtling and they were married following her graduation in 1949. They lived in Curtis Bay.
He pursued an undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland and taught drafting at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School in Brooklyn. She had a successful career at Dupont in Curtis Bay, Maryland and later in Wilmington, Delaware. He and Dorothy were the parents of a son, Dana, who predeceased him. He and Dorothy later separated and remained friends until her death in June, 1986. He often said that Dorothy was the love of his life.
He left Benjamin Franklin Junior High School and continued his career at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (BPI) where he taught engineering courses. He spoke of his students as talented and good people. While at BPI, he completed a Master’s Degree in Education at Loyola College in Baltimore.
He spent his entire career teaching in the Baltimore Public School System, retiring in the early 1990’s.
After retirement, he relocated to Alexandria, Virginia where he met and lived in a committed relationship with Dr. Kazuko Price until her death in 2017. He and Dr. Price enjoyed opera and other musical and theatrical events as members of the Kennedy Center and frequently traveled to New York to attend the Metropolitan Opera. He also served as a docent at the White House during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations.
Following Dr. Price’s death, Dr. Evangeline Tomlinson, a family friend and colleague of Dr. Price’s, provided care and support to Mr. Ryan until she retired to Ohio. His nephew Alfred Fick and his wife Jahn Starr moved him to The Highlands in Topsham, Maine where he resided until his death.
Please visit the family owned GONCE FUNERAL SERVICE P. A. 4001 Ritchie Hwy on Friday February 28, 2020 from 10:30 AM till 12:00 PM at which time services will be held. Interment with Military Honors will be held in Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Please feel free to express your condolences on his tribute wall.
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