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This article first appeared in the "Valley Lives" column in the August 25, 2021 issue of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
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Tom Ryan
Community mourns a father and friend to many
By Jonathan Rudnicki
Whether it was on the Vorlage ski hill or on one of the many walking trails in the Gatineau Hills, Wakefield resident Tom Ryan made everyone feel welcome and a part of the community.
"I was surprised at the breadth of her network in the community," Schwartz said.
On Aug. 7, he died in his sleep at his home at age 86 after a typical active day according to his daughter, Jenny Sanchez. "We don't really know what happened, but whatever it was, it was the most graceful exit you could imagine," she said.
Ryan moved to the Gatineaus from London, ON, in the mid60s with his family when he got a job at Carleton University as a professor of psychology, specializing in developmental child psychology.
Ryan's career at Carleton would see him advance from professor to chairman of the department of psychology, then the dean of social sciences at Carleton, and finally he became vice president academic at the university.
Described as attentive, talkative, and caring, Ryan became close friends to many.
"I was pretty darn lucky," said Carrie Wallace, Ryan's niece who spent many summers at the Ryan home. "Lots of people have stories about Tom being a father-like figure or a good friend to them. If he was engaged in something, he couldn't be more present."
At age 55 Ryan retired, but immediately got involved in Wakefield, Ryan's son Paddy
Ryan said, "that's when Wakefield Walkers started."Ryan and his late wife Clare started the group, which would bring people together during the summer months for walks on trails and paths throughout the Hills
"He got a lot of people out walking. A lot of newcomers from Wakefield and Chelsea came and walked. It was a way for people to get to know people in the neighbourhood," said Ken Bouchard, president of Sentiers Wakefield Trails, who first met Ryan through a Wakefield Walkers trek.
Bouchard remembers a time when Ryan asked if he could plant some flowers along one of Clare's favourite trails after she died. "We went to his daughter's place and we dug up some flowers, mainly irises I think. We planted the flowers and they're still there, 10 years later," Bouchard said.
In the winter, Ryan and Clare taught skiing at the Vorlage Ski Hill, said Paddy, and he only stopped teaching three years ago at age 83. "He loved it, and it wasn't just the teaching, it was the whole instructor community," Paddy said.
When Vorlage told skiers they couldn't gear-up in the lodge because of COVID-19, Jenny said her father would drive around with an orange antique chair in his trunk so he could pull it out in the Vorlage parking lot and put on his ski boots comfortably.
And when he was no longer able to teach skiing because of his aging vision, Ryan remained on the hill as an ambassador, guiding lost skiers and helping out anyone in need, Jenny said.
"He thrived on Wakefield, the Gatineaus, the community, the people. He just loved it," Paddy said.
Clare died 12 years ago, said Jenny, and Ryan didn't like being alone. So he reconnected with his high school girlfriend, Marlene Lafave, and they became very close companions. "She was definitely an important part of his life for the last 10 years or so. They spoke on the phone at least once a day during the pandemic."
Clare is already at the grave site, Jenny said, but instead of a gravestone, Ryan chose a stone bench.
Since the graveyard is connected to some of the Wakefield walking trails, Ryan envisioned hikers resting on the bench as they passed through. "The words on the bench invite people to rest there awhile," Jenny said. "I think my dad hoped to have company even after he died."
and is still owned by the Blackburn family. They buried their family and neighbours there as there was no church cemetery until around 1857, according to the Cantley 1889 website. Gary Blackburn, Cantley 1889 board member and owner of the cemetery, is a descendant of the Blackburns who are buried there.