John E.H. Ryan, 45, died on May 16, 2012, while working in Colombo, Sri Lanka. John was born October 31, 1966, in Cheltenham, England, and spent many years of his youth in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, including three years as a lifeguard.

John was educated at Worcester Preparatory School in Berlin, MD, and The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, NJ. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA; Master’s degree from University of Texas-Austin; and Doctoral degree from Warwick University’s School of Business in Coventry, England.

John will be remembered for his passion and commitment to reducing the human footprint on the planet while opening economic opportunities for rural communities around the world. For over 25 years, he traveled the globe seeking fellow entrepreneurs and providing opportunities to enable them to create environmentally sustainable businesses. He will be missed dearly.

He is survived by: his wife Melissa Ryan of Arlington, VA; parents Leon and Janet Ryan of Lewes, DE; brother James and sister-in-law Loretta Ryan of Seattle, WA; sister Mary and brother-in-law Mike Roth of Wilmington, DE; and brother Leon and sister-in-law Candy Ryan of Birmingham, AL.

Private family services were held in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach, DE.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park or a local organization of your choice.

Friends of Cape Henlopen State Park - P. O. Box 132 - Nassau, DE 19969


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

from Sharon Forsyth / Washington DC

I can only say that the day I met John, at the Costa Rican embassy, it felt like reconnecting with a long lost friend. We spoke for hours, and I was filled with joy to have discovered such a brilliant and fascinatingly complex person. He was one of the most intensely interesting, enthusiastically intellectual people I ever met, and the joy and wonder that he found in the intricacies of a staggeringly broad range of arcane topics enriched my life and made every shared tea or lunch more fulfilling than a lifetime of conversation with almost anybody else. His intensity, his passion, his sensitivity, seemed to allow him to experience life on a higher plane, in more vivid color than most of us, which must have made his life much more wonderful, but also undoubtedly more painful, too.

Even the memory of John is brighter than most else that I have experienced in this confusing, all too mediocre world.

I'm looking forward to celebrating John's life, rather than just mourning his loss. Thanks for providing that opportunity. Let me know if there is anything we can do to help.

Sharon Forsyth
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