James & Sarah Ryan

James Harvey Ryan, 70, and his wife, Sarah Melinda Ryan, 68, of Etoile passed away Oct. 26, 2015, in Angelina County. Mr. Ryan was born Jan. 31, 1945, in West Plains, Missouri. Mrs. Ryan was born March 13, 1947, in Memphis, Tennessee.

James is preceded in death by his parents James Herbert Ryan and Sallie Frederick Ryan. Sarah is also preceded in death by her parents Ralph Christopher Edwards Jr. and Josephine Crawford Edwards. The Ryan’s are survived by their son, Chris Ryan and wife Bonnie of Etoile; daughter, Melanie Frye and husband Robert of Kingwood; grandchildren, Rocko Ryan, Sadie Ryan, Merrick Frye, and Major Frye; also survived by siblings, nieces, nephews, and other relatives.

Harvey and Melinda met on a blind date in 1970, and were married July 7, 1972, in Mobile, Alabama. They were devoted parents to two children, Chris and Melanie, and were loving grandparents to Rocko, Sadie, Merrick and Major.

Melinda was a loving mother and a devoted wife. She was widely known to be extremely thoughtful, kind and steadfast in her Christian faith. She always had dinner on the table and would not let you leave hungry. Professionally, she earned her Bachelors Degree in Art and her Masters Degree in Library Science. She worked as a librarian at New Caney ISD until she retired. Melinda loved walking on the beach collecting seashells and making various crafts to give away as gifts. She was known as “Grandma” to her four grandchildren.

Harvey was raised by two very hardworking parents who instilled an impressive and precious work ethic in him. He served as an Army machine gunner in Korea during the Vietnam Era. Later, he proudly worked as a Teamster in the pipeline industry. He had a keen interest in finance and investing. To his children, he was an amazing father and irreplaceable mentor. To his grandchildren he was “GrandRat”.

In recent years they have traveled all over the U.S., but have especially enjoyed their trips to the beach. Both successful gardeners, Harvey and Melinda spent their free time at home gardening, cooking, and canning together. Their retirement years have been time truly dedicated to each other. No matter what, they were always together.