Kenneth "Ken" Ryan's Obituary
Kenneth Ryan (Ken) was born in Duluth, Minnesota on July 20, 1940 to Lois and Jim Ryan. His family moved to Richland, Washington in 1944 when Jim began work at the Hanford Atomic Plant.
Ken was always an exceptional student, and he was an outstanding athlete, playing football, basketball and running track. His best sport was football, and he was selected for the First Team Conference All-Stars in 1958.
After graduating from high school in 1958, Ken entered the University of Washington as a pre-med major. He joined the Fiji fraternity and developed many lifelong friendships. He was accepted and began medical school at the University of Washington in 1962, graduating in 1966. Following graduation he was selected to begin a Fellowship in Clinical Microbiology with Dr. John Sherris, and that's when he discovered his interest in infectious diseases.
Ken married Judy Rees in 1963 after his first year in medical school. They later had 3 wonderful children, Katie (Bart), Sara, and Mark (Stephanie.) Cynthia Ann Ryan is Ken's only sibling, and she now resides in Denver.
After spending two years in the Army at the Army Surgeon General's office in Washington D.C., he accepted his first academic position at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson as an Assistant Professor. After an illustrious career doing teaching, research and directing the diagnostic labs in the Pathology Department, he ended his career as Dean of the medical school Two of his proudest accomplishments were appointing the first woman to head a department, and then making sure that women had the same salaries as men in the same positions. Ken was truly ahead of his time.
Also as a man of many interests, he became a board member for the Arizona Theater Company and also served on the Arizona Opera board. For many years he gave lectures before the Tucson opera performances and had an enthusiastic following.
Another accomplishment was writing for and then editing the Sherris Ryan Medical Microbiology textbook, used widely in medical schools all over the USA. The 9th edition coming out will be dedicated to him.
Tennis and golf were his favorite leisure activities. Travel was also a major part of Ken and Judy's life, so they had many wonderful trips around the world.
Most of all, Ken was patient and kind, and he loved his family with all his heart. He will be missed by his family, his friends, and his colleagues.
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