Cheryl Ryan Obituary

Cheryl Rose Van Tassel Ryan gave her family the gift of her gorgeous smile and bright blue eyes one last time on September 21, 2024. "I love you forever, Baby" were the last words she heard from Dan, her husband of 58 years. She left the world as she arrived: Embraced, held in wonder and washed in love.
Cheryl was known for those blue eyes and smile. Her eyes remained a bright blue when she looked with love at her husband, her children, her best old friends, and her old best friends. They changed slightly to a silvery blue when she cried. When she laughed, her high cheekbones pushed her eyes closed.
She was a social butterfly and always a fun and loyal friend. She remained in touch with every friend she made in her life, including her classmates at Cobleskill High School, where she graduated in 1964. She was a cheerleader, on student council, all-state and county band, choir, yearbook committee, bowling club, and pep club. Her mother, Wanda, and father, Vernon "Van" raised Cheryl and her younger sister, Cindy ("ForCynthia") on Lincoln Ave in Cobleskill. Wanda was the Town Clerk and Van was a manager at Ralston Purina Company. They had retired in Mooresville, IN, where Cindy and her husband, Rich, live today.
Cheryl fell in love once in 1965 and never fell back out. She and Dan Ryan met in the Student Union at SUNY Cobleskill, where she studied Early Childhood Education and he, Business. By 1967, they were in Germany, a Sergeant and his bride. At that time, "the military didn't recruit wives" so left to their own devices, Cheryl joined a group of women of the enlisted and chartered a small prop plane to take them from NY to Frankfurt. They drank away their fear of flying over the Atlantic on that flight to join their husbands serving at Ramstein Air Force Base. Dan and Cheryl and another young military couple shared an apartment in Kindsbach, just above the apartment of a third couple with whom they became close. A clothesline between the upper and lower apartments served as a beer delivery system for the three couples, who shared everything from a putzfrau to vacations. The friendships formed in those years were filled with trips around Europe, new babies, and a VW Beetle. They kept in touch for the rest of her life. There remains a small handful of people who can recall that time in 1969 when they convoyed to Holland with one VW Beetle packed with two soldiers, two new mothers, two babies on their laps, no seatbelts but baby carriages and luggage strapped securely to the top of the Bug. They drove the Autobahn with no idea where they were going because they lost the lead car. They will always share the memory of ending up in the home of a kind Dutch bartender and his family, who spoke no English but bisschen Deutsch.
There were many adventures in those early years of marriage and military. They drove past hundreds of acres of tulips at the Keukenhof in 1968 on their tour of Amsterdam. The Alps were explored in a pass, and they knew Austria and Germany thoroughly. The cuckoo clock from the Black Forest stayed on our walls for 25 years. Their time in Paris was romantic, save the time those two young voyou on a bus in Pigalle that tried to get between the men and their wives. By the next stop Dan and his friend had the two boys reformed. There was also that time in the dining room of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen when they were pulled into a Fire Dance.
In 1968, their firstborn, Cheryl Anne, made Cheryl a Mom. "CA" had her father's dark hair and her mother's blue eyes and grew to have her father's Irish humor and her mother's sense of style and caregiving. Wanda and Van were told of her birth through a message on the military's radio communications and they flew immediately to Germany so CA could meet her Oma and Opa.
In these first years of marriage, they formed a friendship and partnership that remain goals for the rest of us. "It was just the two of us and no one else," Dan reflected. It remained that way for the rest of her life.
Four years after landing in Frankfurt, Cheryl and Dan moved back stateside. Eventually, they settled in Groton, NY, where Dan attended Tompkins Cortland Community College and then began working with Prudential Insurance. They bought their first home on Elm Street, not far from the Congregational Church they attended and where they again found friends who became like family.
In 1973, their family grew after they adopted Patricia. Cheryl and Dan first laid eyes on her as she crawled to them, smiling and cooing in Cheryl's arms. There was no doubt this child would make them a family of four. They drove to Grandma Ryan's house in Syracuse, NY to celebrate their daughter's arrival. It was also the day they found out they were pregnant with number three. Bridget was born in 1974. One year later, Meaghon completed their family. Patty's cooing became the most contagious laughter. Bridget has Cheryl's face and laugh. Meg inherited Cheryl's fun-loving socialness. Cheryl Anne continues questioning how three babies suddenly appeared and started wearing her clothes.
In 1979, the family of six moved to Little Meadows, PA, a small farm community over the New York border and near Dan's family. They rented a farmhouse where Cheryl ran a household with a teenager, a first grader, a kindergartner, and a preschooler while Dan completed his Bachelor's degree at SUNY Binghamton. Cheryl once again found a group of women from her bible study with whom she bonded and grew the spirit of Christ in her family. But it was time again in 1981, to move the family back to New York, where Dan became an administrator at SUNY Delhi.
Cheryl and Dan found a nearby farm in East Meredith, NY, just 12 miles from Delhi to raise their crew. There was a barn for Meg to help with the cows, a yard for Bridget to practice gymnastics, space for all of Patty's books, acres of fields to host church BBQ's, church bonfires, Rotary Club picnics, and a wedding for Cheryl Anne and her husband, Alex Chan, in 1991. Cheryl and Dan again found their church and friends like family. The "Treadwell Gang" of families raised their children together.
This was their home for 15 years. This is where they met their first grandson, Nicky. Their second grandson, Ryan. Their first granddaughter, Isabelle, and second granddaughter, Chynna. Where they sent all four children to college and welcomed them home for breaks and holidays. The dining room hosted teenagers for epic games of UNO, Thanksgiving meals with Oma and Opa. Prom dinners. Cheryl's bible groups.
As her kids became independent, Cheryl followed her heart and began a long career in service to others. She joined Delaware Opportunities in Delhi, NY, helping to bring basic needs to families in Delaware County. She served as HEAP Coordinator but also often took a special interest in the clients who needed a little more grace and guidance. As the wife of a man who employed many on Delhi's SUNY campus, Cheryl was known to urge Dan to help a client earn income and find stability. Some of you reading this know Cheryl this way. She was a voice for the stranger, the poor, the ill, and the underprivileged, as was directed in Scripture. She was a mentor and advisor to many. Days after she passed, her family was sent stories about how Cheryl helped them grow stronger in their marriages, parenting, and independence. "If it wasn't for Cheryl, I wouldn't be a pastor." "She was so wise and a deep thinker." "So easy to talk to and had a great sense of humor!" "She was the most loving and caring woman I've ever met." "I loved her laugh." "The force that was Cheryl." "The things that struck me most about your mom were her eyes and her smile! Cheryl was such a force, and she loved fiercely and deeply." She was "always laughing, pretty eyes sparkling. She was special, and smart and kind and funny."
The nest emptied in 1994. Cheryl and Dan, always the nomadic duo, took their second act to Cortland, NY. Cheryl decided to take her lifelong love of learning to SUNY Cortland and complete her Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences. She especially loved her studies in theology, even writing about her discoveries about Buddhism. She graduated with Bridget and her husband, Matthew Snell.
Once again, Cheryl found a family in her church and created new friendships based on shared faith in Christ. She was a leader in the Emmaus community and later became a Stephen Minister, trained to provide one-on-one Christ-centered care to the grieving.
The next adventure took the couple to Milwaukee, away from the Northeastern woods and to the city, where they traded the front porch for a condo and fairs on the town square for street Jazz festivals. But after a few years, they returned East and settled in Auburn, MA, near their children and grandchildren, who had by then become 6 with the additions of Mary Pearl and Juliet. In Auburn, Cheryl became a member of Liberty Church and found more friendships and joy, opportunities for giving, and some of the best worship music for praising.
Music was a staple in Cheryl and Dan's home. Their girls grew up with a soundtrack playing for every task: homework, housecleaning, playing, and often culminated in kitchen dance parties where Dan and Cheryl could be found singing to each other and showing their dance moves. Her grandkids saw her dancing until she couldn't. Then there was that time when Cheryl was pulled over for speeding, with Isabelle in the car, because they were in a hurry to get in front of American Idol (they were let off with a warning and free to go cast their votes for Carrie Underwood).
It was in Auburn seven years ago that Cheryl was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. But even on her last day, she never forgot Dan. She became 19 again as he sang "To the Twelfth of Never." She giggled with him and became a new bride every time he sang "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me." She was a 40-year-old mother of four again when we played "Islands in the Stream." On the last day of her life, Mom spoke only the word "Yes" when asked if we should play some music for her while she rested. We gathered and sang her favorites, including "On Eagles Wings."
She heard us tell her how much we loved her. She heard us sing "Amazing Grace" and "Jesus Loves Me." And she went home after Dan told her "I love you forever, Baby."
Calling hours will be held on October 5, 2024 from 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM at the Britton-Wallace Funeral Home, 91 Central Street, Auburn, MA. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Alzheimer's Association, The Arc of Massachusetts, or Catholic Charities in your area.