In Memoriam: Red Bank-Raised RBC ’71 Grad, Ed Ryan Jr., 69

Longtime Red Bank resident and Red Bank Catholic High School (RBC) Class of 1971 graduate, Ed Ryan Jr. passed away on Dec. 28 “after declining health following a stroke in 2020.” He was 69.

Born in Red Bank, the RBC graduate excelled in basketball there. After high school, Ed began his college studies at NC State and Brookdale Community College. He graduated with a degree in Business from Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL.

Ed Ryan Jr.
Photo/family via Thompson Memorial Home

“Ed began farming at a young age and his path led to a career with US Department of Agriculture, with posts throughout the South and eventually to Northern Vermont, where he worked as a USDA Supervisor as an agricultural border inspector. Mid-career Ed returned to his passion of farming and opened a farm stand in Colts Neck where he sold vegetables, flowers, pumpkins, Christmas trees, and his legendary tomatoes, then returning to USDA. After retirement in 2011 Ed continued farming in Vermont on a smaller scale, growing a variety of summer vegetables. His hobbies included fishing, boating, and spending time with family.
When his health declined Ed moved to North Carolina to be in the care of his sisters and brother-in-law.
Ed loved spending time in the summer in the Adirondack mountains with his mother, siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews.
Ed you will be missed by all of us.”
Loved ones of Ed Ryan Jr. in his obituary

Ed is predeceased by: his father, Edmund B. Ryan.

He is survived by: his mother, Marion Ryan, of Little Silver; sisters, Suzanne Ryan Souto of Shallotte, NC, Karen Ryan Bonfield and husband Tom, of Sunset Beach, NC, Marianne Ryan Gillette and husband Robert, of Johnsburg, NY; brother, Christopher Ryan and wife Heather, of Enola, AR; and nieces and nephews, Jackson Souto, Carol Bottiggi, Thomas and Craig Bonfield, Megan DeMeyer, Brendan, James, Caleb, and Daniel Ryan.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, Jan. 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank. Mass of christian burial will be held on Friday, Jan. 6, at 11 a.m. at St. James Church, Red Bank. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Middletown. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Red Bank Catholic Casey Fund, Red Bank Catholic Advancement Office, 112 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ 07701 in memory of Ed.

— Edited obituary prepared by family via Thompson Memorial Home