Elliott J. Ryan, Major USAF (retired) of Upper Gwynedd, Pennsylvania, previously of Southampton, died Friday, July 14, 2017, at his son Richard’s home in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania. He was 92.
Mr. Ryan, a son of the late John Elliott Ryan and Florence T. (Michalowski) Ryan, was born in Brooklyn. He was a graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School, specializing in aeronautics and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942.
He served as a bombardier and a fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korean War. He trained Chinese fighter pilots in India during WWII and participated in bombing missions for Allied forces in North Africa. He was a fighter pilot for much of his military career and was particularly fond of flying the famous P-51 and, later, the F-100 series of fighter jets.
Mr. Ryan retired from the USAF in 1966 and became a commercial pilot for Columbia Gas Corp., where he rose to the position of director of aviation, retiring in 1980. His military career and early retirement allowed him and his wife, Joan, to travel the world to places such as France, Germany and Ireland. He also enjoyed his time flying with the Skytypers, spending time fishing and working on model planes and boats. He was skilled at working on planes, building experimental aircraft and re-building antique aircraft. He loved his many cats and enjoyed spending time with his family in Cape May, New Jersey. With his warm sense of humor, he was a dear friend to many and was an avid story-teller to all, survivors said.
He was predeceased by his wife, Joan M. Ryan, with whom he celebrated 66 years of marriage last October.
He is also survived by a son, Richard E. Ryan and wife Karen J. of Coopersburg; a daughter, Kathleen M. Ryan and partner Jeanette Plunkett of Las Vegas; grandsons, Kevin J. Ryan and fiancée Cassandra Tripaldi of Pennsylvania, and Brett E. Ryan of Philadelphia; two sisters, Dorothy Anderson and Noreen Lane, both of East Islip; and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass was scheduled for Thursday, July 20, at St. Joseph Church-Limeport in Coopersburg.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Stephens Funeral Home in Allentown. Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery, Cape May Court House, New Jersey.
Memorial donations may be made to the Lehigh Valley Leukemia Society, 901 N. 19th Street, Allentown, PA 18104.
on Jul 17, 2017