Ryan Love

Ryan was born on September 28, 1974, in Peoria. He attended Augustana College and University of Illinois law school, but those that knew him recognize him less for academic institutions he attended and more from intellectual diatribes he provided. He worked at Papparazzi in Peoria Heights for several years, and will be remembered as a passionate chef, an avid dog lover, a Halloween costume enthusiast, a talented cannonballer, and a loving, committed partner and stepfather to his family. He was his family's original "Silly Man", a deeply committed 49'ers fan, and a Star Wars collector. He enjoyed poker and bulls games with his dad, aggressively seasoning his mom's and sister's cooking, arguing politics, philosophy, law, and ethics, and loving, loving, loving his family and friends. Ryan will be forever cherished as a warrior - for logic, ideals, animals, his best friends, and anyone he loved. He was fiercely intelligent, bitingly sarcastic, deeply loyal, and so very loved.

He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Phyllis and Randy Stone of Peoria; his father, Ronald Love of Peoria; fiancée Katie (Becker) Hanyzewski of Dunlap; two stepchildren, Madison and Jackson Hanyzewski; sister and brother-in-law, Riley (Love) and Eric Naff of Downers Grove; nephew and niece Elias and Mila Naff; stepbrother, Doug Stone of Rochester; stepsister DeAnn (Stone)and Jimmy Ingersoll; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

He is preceeded in death by grandparents James and Florence Folatico and Jessie and Cathryn Love.

A celebration of Ryan's life will be held at 3pm on Sunday, May 17 at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria. A sharing of stories will occur, and all are encouraged to contribute a memory, joke, or anecdote about Ryan, though guarantees cannot be provided that Ryan won't debate erroneous details from the beyond.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts in his honor may be made to Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter (PAWS) at 2600 NE Perry Avenue and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) www.splcenter.org/