William Roper Ryanfather of five, sailor and retired engineer, died in his sleep May 22 at his home in Lebanon, NH, at age 90. His health had been in decline, particularly since he suffered a fall in February.

Bill Ryan and his beloved wife, the late Catherine Greenslit Ryan, moved to Lebanon from Red Bank, NJ, in 2005. Before his retirement from Westinghouse, he worked as a mechanical engineer for four decades in New York, Ohio, California, Pennsylvania and Florida, most recently in the nuclear power industry.

Born November 20, 1921 in Hull, England, he moved to the U.S. as a small child. He attended high school in Rumson, NJ, the Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and New York University. In World War II he served as a lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers, making maps in the Philippines at the end of the war.

Bill and Cathy met during the war and married in 1945. They raised five children, all born in the 1950's, in a series of sprawling houses in four states.

Sailing was a lifelong passion; in retirement, Bill enjoyed sailing his ketch in the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound.

Salt was in his genes. Bill's mother, Laura Roper Ryan, a librarian and poet, was the daughter of Janet Lord Roper, who helped thousands of families locate missing seamen. His English dad, William Douglas Ryan, went to sea at 15 and became a U.S. Navy commander in WW2.

William R. Ryan is survived by two sisters, Laurette Plunkett and Patricia Paton, two sons, William A. and Andrew D. Ryan, three daughters, Nancy, Mary (of Norwich, VT) and Alison Ryan, and eight grandchildren.

The Ryan family is deeply grateful to the compassionate caregivers who attended Bill during his final months.

We love and miss you, Dad.