John R. Ryan, 81, of New Bedford died March 7, 2009 at Southeastern Mass. Health & Rehabilitation Facility after a long illness.
He was the husband of Mary (Hollywood) Ryan.
Born in Brockton, MA, the son of the late John W. and Marion E. (Cannon) Ryan he was raised in Falmouth and lived in New Bedford most of his life.
He was a communicant of Our Lady of Fatima Church.
Mr. Ryan was formerly employed as an engineer for Amtrak for 45 years until his retirement. He was also a professional scuba diver who repaired many fishing boats in the New Bedford fishing fleet. In retirement he was a well known freelance photographer photographing the New Bedford Waterfront and fishing fleet.
He was a member of Knights of Columbus, McMahon Council as a 4th degree knight, a member of the St. Lawrence Couples Club and a scuba diver with the Fairhaven Diving Club Search & Rescue team.
Survivors include his wife; 3 daughters, Rosemary Kaufmann and her husband Roger of Goodyear, Arizona, Louise Rivard and her companion Robert Fay, Jr. of New Bedford, and Marybeth Carlsen and her husband Daniel of Rochester; a brother, Joseph Ryan of Groveland, MA; a sister, Marylin Clark of Freeland, Maryland; 3 grandchildren, Joshua Souto and his wife Kristy, Andrew Souto and his wife Kerri and Aleshia Carlsen and her fiancé John Bryan; 4 great-grandchildren who called him "Cheese Grampy", Dylan Souto, Noah Souto, Ashley Souto and Elizabeth Souto; and several nieces & nephews.
He was the brother of the late William Ryan and Ruth Brewer and the grandfather of the late Kyle Carlsen.
Funeral from the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6) Mattapoisett Thursday, March 12th at 8:30 AM. Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Fatima Church at 10 AM. Visiting hours Wednesday, March 11th from 4-7 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the charity of one's choice.