The Caledonian Record, Monday April 19, 1971, front page Obituary for Francis X. Ryan Academy Guidance Dept. Head Dies in Bay State

Friends, including persons affiliated with St. Johnsbury Academy and the Vermont Democratic Party, are feeling the loss today of a man who combined warm heartedness with an ability to fight, Frank Ryan.

Francis X. Ryan died in Groton, Mass. yesterday of a heart attack. He was 45. Francis Ryan was guidance director of St. Johnsbury Academy and chairman of the Caledonia County Democratic Committee at the time of his death.

Vincent Durnan, headmaster of the Academy, said this morning, "Mr. Ryan was one of the few people in education I've known who is impossible to replace. He epitomized the spirit of St. Johnsbury Academy, and he will be sorely missed by students, faculty, and anyone who has ever been associated with the Academy. We feel we have suffered a great personal loss as well as a professional loss."

Elwin Twombly, a former headmaster, summed up Frank Ryan's feelings toward the Academy students by saying, "He treated every student just like one of his own." Twombly added, "Anything that was good for the school, he did it."

Bernier Mayo, a faculty member at the Academy and a friend of Francis Ryan said, "It's hard to think of the school or the town without him."

William Stowe, a science teacher at the Academy, said, "He knew more students than any other member of the faculty ever has." Stowe said he knew about his students' progress even 10 to 15 years after they graduated.

William Costa, a prominent St. Johnsbury Democrat and a local store owner, said "Frank Ryan fought for the underdog all of his life." Costa pointed out that he had helped a number of students find their place in life and never received, and never asked for, public recognition.

Ryan had been the Democratic Caledonian County Chairman since 1967 and he had been very active with Democratic Party politics since John F. Kennedy's campaign in 1960. He was the secretary of the St. Johnsbury Democratic Town Social Welfare Board, and was a former trustee of Northeast Kingdom Mental Health. He was a prime mover in the Hoff-Lindsay Vermont-New York Youth Project, and was director of Upward Bound for the past three years. He was a charter member of the Ecumenical Bible Study Group, and belonged to The Great Books Club and the Synapse Club. He authored a monograph on the Fairbanks family of St. Johnsbury. Ryan served as football line coach for several years at the Academy and was also baseball coach and jayvee baseball coach.

Frank Ryan was born on Oct. 7, 1925 in Salem, Mass. and served in the Pacific Theater in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He received a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Boston University in 1950 and began teaching commercial courses at the Academy in 1951. Ryan earned a master's degree in education from Salem State College in 1962 and was appointed guidance director at the Academy in 1964.

He is survived by his widow, Margaret, three sons, Mark, Christopher, and Jonathan, his mother Mrs. Edward Ryan Sr., a sister Mrs. Thaddeus Hull of Salem, and two brothers, Edward Ryan, Jr. of Salem and Martin P. Ryan of Miami, Fla.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 11 AM at St. John's Church in St. Johnsbury. In lieu of flowers the family requests that friends who wish to may contribute to the Francis X. Ryan Scholarship Fund in care of Vincent Durnan at St. Johnsbury Academy.