Lawrence John Ryan

Lawrence John Ryan, 77, of Oshkosh died July 1st, 2019, at Theda Clark Regional Medical Center in Neenah, WI with his children at his side after a brief battle with cancer.

Larry was born on April 4th,1942 at St. Joseph Hospital in Milwaukee, WI to John “Jack” and Elaine (Piller) Ryan.

Growing up in Antigo, WI, Larry attended grade school at St. John Catholic School and continued his education at Sacred Heart Seminary in Oneida, WI where he graduated high school in 1960. After attending St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee, WI, he worked for the Milwaukee Road before volunteering to serve in Vietnam with the 25th Infinity Division as a sergeant.

Larry married Evie Segel on June 4th, 1977 in Antigo, WI. After Larry’s graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in Agriculture, he & Evie bought a small farm in Marquette County, WI where they raised pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, vegetables, and four children.

In 1989, Larry took a QA Supervisor position at Brakebush Brothers, Inc in Westfield, WI, where he retired in 2008. In his retirement, he relocated to Oshkosh, WI where he enjoyed fishing, biking around town, volunteering at his grandchildren’s elementary school, and attending their soccer games, karate demonstrations, and band and orchestra concerts.

Music was an important part of Larry’s life, and his friends and family members benefited from the joy he took in discovering and sharing new music. Larry also loved an intense philosophical discussion. One of his more recent favorite discoveries was social media, and he was able to reconnect with childhood friends and distant family that he had lost contact with over the years. He also seemed to relish the debate that social media can spark, and he frequently enjoyed trolling family, friends, and friends of friends on Facebook.

Anyone who would stop by Larry’s for a visit would eventually be treated to a tour of his garden which always incorporated herbs, vegetables, coneflowers, milkweeds, and a variety of interesting objects that he made or found and turned into art. At some point during the visit he’d also offer some homemade bread or cookies which were sure to include plenty of flax seeds and bran for good health.

Larry is survived by his daughters Kate Ryan (Ken Kase) of St Louis and Becca Ryan-Sabai (Andrew Sabai) of Oshkosh; his sons John (Becky) Ryan of Pardeeville and Brendan Ryan of Black Earth; grandchildren Tristan, Abby, and Lance Ryan of Pardeeville, and Leif, Ian, and Annika Sabai of Oshkosh; mother of his children Evie Ryan; sisters Jane Henricks and Meg Eiter (Mary Schlautman); brother Tim (Thelma) Ryan; sister-in-law Kathleen Ryan as well as many nieces and nephews.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Patrick Ryan, and his brother-in-law John Henricks.

A memorial service for Larry will be held on Saturday, July 20th at 3:00 pm at Konrad-Behlman Funeral Home at 100 Lake Pointe Drive in Oshkosh. A visitation will be held at the funeral home from 1:00 pm until the time of service.