John Francis Ryan

John Francis Ryan III of Merritt Island age 64, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday April 11th. John was born in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from Massapequa High School. He served in the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1969. John retired from Grumman Technical Services and Northrop Grumman in 1998. His last assignment was as a Program Manager on the F-14 Tomcat program. One of his assignments was in Iran where he spent three years before being evacuated at the start of the Iranian Revolution in the seventies. As a 12 year lung cancer survivor, John was a very active volunteer with the American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program. He and his son were active with Boy Scouts of America Troop 343. John served on the boards of the River Grove Homeowners Association and the Merritt Island Executive Council. He was an avid Parrott Head and loved attending Jimmy Buffett concerts with his family, friends and fellow Parrott Heads. He was proud to claim that he attended the Buffet Millennium Concert in LA on December 31, 1999. John loved traveling to other countries and taking cruises to various destinations. John is survived by his wife Andrea (Hoffman) of Merritt Island, son John Joseph (USAF Captain) and daughter-in-law Katherine (USAF Captain) of Surprise, AZ. He also leaves behind his sisters Judy (Don Gjertsen) and Eileen (Bob Gibson), loving sister-in-laws Irene Scott and Judith Hoffman, brother-in-laws Richard (Sarah Lynn) Hoffman and James (Ann) Hoffman as well as an extended family of cousins, nieces, nephews, and multitude of friends. John is predeceased by his parents John and Eileen Ryan. A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, April 16th at Our Savior Catholic Church in Cocoa Beach at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made in John's name to H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Hospital or Friends of Scouting. Our hearts are sad with this loss, but those who knew him know that John is in heaven smiling upon us. John will be remembered as a wonderful father, loving husband, and true friend. He will be greatly missed. Beach Funeral Home in Indian Harbor Beach is handling the arrangements.