J. Doyle Ryan

John Doyle Ryan, age 88, of Las Vegas, Nevada, passed away on January 15, 2026, at Las Ventanas, the senior living community where he lived. Doyle was born on August 1, 1937, in Grinnell, Iowa, and was the youngest of four children born to Terese Elizabeth (Kilcoin) Ryan and Thomas Philip Ryan.

At the time of Doyle's birth, the family lived on Jackson Street in Brooklyn, Iowa, just two blocks from St. Patrick's Catholic Church, where the family was very active. They later moved to 201 West Des Moines Street. Brooklyn was a town of about 1,400 at that time, with four grocery stores. Local businesses stocked most of the items needed, so out-of-town shopping trips were not the norm.

One of Doyle's lifelong friends, Robert Wagner, lived across the street. Doyle attended Brooklyn Community School, just a few blocks from his home. Grades K-12 were all in the same building. There were 28 students (one of the smaller classes) in his graduating class of 1955, most of whom started school together in kindergarten.

His Ryan grandparents died before his parents married in 1930. Doyle spent a lot of time with the Kilcoin family, often riding the train to Victor to visit his grandparents and his Uncle Bill and Aunt Abby.

He participated in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as a young boy and delivered The Des Moines Register newspaper. When he was older, he helped on his father's farm, which was nine miles north of town. Most farmers at that time lived on the farm.

Reading was important in the family and Doyle read all the books in his father's complete Mark Twain collection.

During high school, Doyle (nickname "Monk") participated in football, basketball, and track and field. He was a star basketball player and during his senior year (1955), Brooklyn won 21 games, only losing six. He helped to lead a huge upset of West Des Moines Valley in the semi-finals at Newton, before they lost to Grinnell in the district final. There was only one class for all sizes of schools at that time.

After high school, Doyle attended Iowa State College in Ames. He moved directly into the Theta Chi fraternity, where both his father and brother had also pledged. He drove to school in a 1953 Studebaker. He graduated with a B.S. in Farm Operation in 1959.

Doyle and Martha Jean Horan met at a freshman mixer at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Ames. They dated all through college and were married on June 27, 1959, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Ottumwa, Iowa.

He was in ROTC at Iowa State and upon graduation, served a six-month tour as an active duty officer in Army Artillery at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

After his stint in active duty, Doyle was in the Army Reserve for eight years. He went to weekly meetings, where he sometimes taught. Every year he went to a two-week summer camp which was usually held in Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. One summer they were sent to Fort Knox in Kentucky. His Grandma Kilcoin was convinced that Doyle was guarding the gold.

Doyle ran a cow-calf operation and raised corn and soybeans on his farm north of Brooklyn. During the 40 years that Doyle was a full-time farmer, many changes occurred in American agriculture. Doyle was forward thinking in his farming, keeping abreast of innovations in agribusiness, while always hewing to the bottom line.

Doyle was a Madison Township Trustee and a Holiday Lake Water Board member, and served on a local conservation board. He also was an usher, lector, and on the St. Patrick's Catholic Church parish council.

Seeking adventure and a more temperate climate, Doyle and Martha moved to Las Vegas in 1990, where Martha taught special education at Rancho High School. Doyle became an avid hiker–an activity he enjoyed immensely. He was an active member of the Sun City and the Around the Bend Friends hiking clubs, often exploring the trails of Red Rock Canyon and Mt. Charleston. His love of hiking also took him on memorable trips through the Sierra Nevada, Grand Canyon, and Alaska. A lifelong learner, he completed the Master Gardener course through the Nevada Extension Service and became especially knowledgeable about Nevada’s plants and trees. In his 80s, Doyle continued to inspire others, serving as a role model and advocating for using technology to strengthen communication within the Las Ventanas community.

Doyle was well liked and personable, and blessed with a singularly dry sense of humor. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Doyle was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Martha, his brother Thomas W. (Niki) Ryan, and his sister Acquin Ryan. He was also predeceased by his sister-in-law Margaret Ann Weiland and her husband Howard and his brother-in-law Philip J. Horan. Surviving is his sister Elizabeth (John) Cyr of Sun City West, Arizona. He is also survived by his four children: Julie Crom (Randall) of Las Vegas; Sue Weiss (Craig) of Ames, Iowa; John of Colorado Springs; and Dan (Denise) of Cheverly, Maryland. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Brett, Walker (Abbie), and Ryan Weiss and Carole and Evelyn Ryan. Also surviving Doyle are his sisters-in-law Jan Horan and Rosie (Tom) Muehlebach, and brother-in-law Charlie (Sue) Horan, and many nieces and nephews.

Celebration of Life details are pending.

In honor of Doyle, memorial contributions may be made to The HumanGood Foundation, the parent organization of Las Ventanas and a nonprofit dedicated to supporting residents in senior living communities.

https://www.humangood.org/foundation/who-we-serve