He was born on July 20, 1940, in Vinita, Okla., to Martin Albert Ryan Sr. and Bessie E. (Fuller) Ryan. He was a 1958 graduate of Labette County Community High School in Altamont and earned an associate’s degree from Parsons Junior College.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1964.
He owned and operated Joe’s Club in Parsons for several years and was a 40-year employee at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant until retiring in 2004.
He was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, where he attended every Sunday until his health failed. He loved to fish and hunt with his friends, especially his best friend, Tuffy. Joe enjoyed playing cards, visiting, taking motorcycle trips and having a few drinks with his friends, and in younger years, playing softball and football. He received great enjoyment in coaching his daughter’s elementary basketball team, attending his sons’ wrestling matches and coaching both girls’ and men’s softball teams.
He married Sharon Lowry. They later divorced.
He married Nancy Yeoman. They later divorced.
Survivors include two sons, Dallas Allen Ryan of San Francisco and Jason Allen Ryan of Olathe; a daughter, Sherri Hyer of Olathe; two grandchildren, Jackson and Olivia Hyer; and two sisters, Joyce Thompson of Parsons and Betty Fitzgerald of Davie, Fla.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Martin Albert Ryan Jr.
The funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Parsons. Burial will be in Nowata City Cemetery. The rosary will be prayed at 5 p.m. Sunday at Forbes-Hoffman Funeral Home in Parsons, where the family will receive friends immediately following the rosary.
Memorials are suggested to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and may be left at or mailed to the funeral home, P.O. Box 374, Parsons, 67357.
Online condolences may be left at www.forbeshoffman.com.
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