Francis Robert Ryan

Ryan, Frank R. Preceded in death by his Beloved wife Barbara, mother of his 11 children, daughter Loretta, and second wife Cynthia Daly. Survived by his children Carol Ryan, Susan (Mark) Lauer, Janice (Peter) Brown, Deborah Ryan, Christopher Ryan, Kathleen (James) Rosania, Victoria (Bruce Fletcher) Ryan, William (Bernadette) Ryan, Sharon Ryan, and Cynthia (Sid) Schreiber. Also survived by 19 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII, on active duty from October 1940 to December 1945, and in the Air Force Reserve from December 1945 to March 14, 1960, when he retired as a Lt. Colonel. He later joined his father and worked at Frank J. Ryan and Co. for over 42 years. Funeral services will be held Wednesday August 7, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church, Newport Beach, California. Burial will be private.

Francis (Frank) Robert Ryan was born on August 18th, 1917 to Francis Joseph Ryan and Mae Cecile Lahey in Chicago Illinois. Two years later his sister Mary Jane was born. The family moved to Los Angeles, California around 1922. In 1930 his father opened Frank J. Ryan and Company, an insurance business that Frank would later take over. Frank attended Loyola High School and later Santa Clara University, graduating in 1939. In October of 1940 he joined the Army Air Corps as an officer, and through the Army attended The California Institute of Technology, earning another Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Meteorology. He married his wife Barbara on August 18, 1942 and was soon deployed overseas to England for two years from 1942 to 1944. Upon his return, he settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where his first child Carol was born. He and Barbara returned to the Los Angeles area after the war where his children, Susan, Janice, Deborah, Christopher, Kathleen, Victoria, Loretta, William, Sharon, and Cynthia were later born. He completed his army duty in December of 1945 and joined the Air Force Reserves, finally retiring in March of 1960 as a Lt. Colonel. After the war, he joined his father in the family insurance business where he worked for 42 years before retiring. The family resided in Studio City, California until 1977, then moved to Huntington Beach, California. In 1987 his beloved wife Barbara passed away, and in 1992 his daughter Loretta also passed away. In 1990 Frank married Cynthia Daly and moved to Laguna Hills, California. He was married 20 years until Cynthia passed away in 2008. Frank moved up to Santa Clarita, California in September of 2012 to be closer to family and lived at Summerhill Assisted Living. Up until the month before his passing, he lived a full and active life.