Richard Mark Ryan

Richard Mark “Dick” Ryan, 83 years old, passed away peacefully, sitting in his favorite chair inside his Beaumont, CA home on June 3, 2018. His loving and devoted wife Roma was with him. They were two months shy of their 60th wedding anniversary.

Dick was born in Long Beach, CA to Harold Francis Ryan and Lillian Mae Watson Ryan. He was the eldest of three sons and grew up in Wilmington, CA, graduating from Banning High School in 1953. Dick joined the United States Army and completed Basic Training, then chose to join the 82nd Airborne Division in 1955. He met his future wife Roma Jean LeDonne and they were married on August 2, 1958 and began their family. He joined the Los Angeles Police Dept. in 1958, while simultaneously working part time as a Longshoreman at the LA/LB Harbor for a short time. During his years of police work, he attended Long Beach State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. Dick left LAPD for Naval Investigative Service (NIS) in 1966 and worked as an investigator in Da Nang during the Vietnam War. After returning from Vietnam, Dick moved his family to Oahu, Hawaii for his job with NIS. In 1970, he moved his family back to So. California and settled in Los Alamitos. Shortly thereafter, Dick became a Federal Agent for Defense Investigative Service. He accepted a supervisory promotion in 1978 and the family moved to Colorado Springs, CO for 1.5 years before he promoted to Special Agent in Charge and moved with his family back to So. California. He retired from that position in 1985 and continued as a contract worker for 6 years. Dick and Roma moved to Sandpoint, ID for 7 years, and as his health began to deteriorate, they moved back to So. California and settled in Beaumont in 2007. Dick and Roma enjoyed living in their new community.

Dick was an avid aviator and owned a Cessna 140. Once he retired, Dick got involved in restoring old planes and travelling to air shows across the country with Roma. He absolutely loved WWII and warplanes. He volunteered his time to assist in restoration of aircraft at the Yanks Museum in Chino, CA.

Dick is survived by his wife Roma, his four children Erin Ryan, Nina Dohoda, Geof Ryan, and Colin Ryan, as well as his grandchildren Devin, Andrew, Caitlin, Daniel, Meaghan, Cullan, Erick, Clinton, and Matthew. Dick also has 8 great-grandchildren, Maddison, McKenna, Macie, Mason, Lilianna, Aiden, Brooks, and Isla, with one more due in August. He is also survived by his youngest brother Paul Ryan. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother David Ryan.

Dick will be buried at Riverside National Cemetery.

Dick's family is requesting that donations in lieu of flowers are made in his name to the Pacific Aviation Museum. https://www.pacificaviationmuseum.org/supportus/donate/