Necrology
James David Ryan '54
Jul. 26, 1932-Nov. 29, 2022
James David Ryan ’54, P’84,’85, GP’15 died on Nov. 29, 2022, at his home in Estero, Fla. Born in Rochester, N.Y., on July 26, 1932, he came to Hamilton from Brighton High School. On the Hill, he was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity and majored in economics and political science. He was also a recipient of an E. Root Finch Scholarship in classical languages.
Jim played for the basketball team all four years, ran track during his first three years, and was in the Block “H” Club as well as its president his senior year. He was a member of the Doers & Thinkers honor society as a sophomore, of Was Los as a junior, and of the Interfraternity Council. As a senior he was active in the Campus Fund and on the Student Admissions Committee.
In 1951, while visiting the Delta Kappa Epsilon house at the University of Rochester, he met Joan Kinsky, whom he courted thereafter for five years. Following graduation from Hamilton, Jim proceeded to Harvard Business School where he earned an MBA in 1956. On June 2 of that year, he and Joan were married. They would have five children.
After Harvard and his wedding, Jim began a management training program at Corning Glass in Corning, N.Y., but shortly thereafter he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in the Finance Corps for three years. He was stationed first at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, and then at Fort Douglas near Salt Lake City. Honorably discharged with the rank of first lieutenant in 1959, he returned with his family to Rochester and worked for Allied Chemical in sales and marketing. In 1962, he joined his brother’s commercial real estate company, William D. Ryan Co., which introduced him to real estate development in Western and Central New York. It became his lifelong career. Among the major projects in which he was involved was the creation of the Allens Creek Office Park in Brighton, N.Y., among the earliest suburban office parks in the region.
Jim founded his own real estate company, RYCO Management, Inc., in 1972 and presided over it until his retirement in 2001. As was the case with his brother’s firm, RYCO focused on real estate development and property management. From Rochester, it established branch operations in Binghamton and Utica with projects that included nursing homes, apartments, motels, and office buildings. When he retired, his son, James Ryan, Jr., assumed oversight.
Given his role in commercial real estate in the greater Rochester area, it should be no surprise that Jim was actively engaged in the community. He served on the board of trustees of the University of Rochester Medical Center, as well as on the boards of the Central Trust Bank, the First National Bank, and M&T Bank, and was a trustee and a one-time chairman of the board of St. John Fisher College. He was a member of the board of managers for Stone Memorial Hospital and chairman of the board of trustees of St. Anne House, a skilled nursing facility in Rochester. For a time, he chaired the Harvard Business School Club of Rochester and was a proud member of the Oak Hill Country Club for 61 years. He was its president in 1976.
Jim and Joan traveled extensively, with Ireland, Mexico, and several European countries among their destinations, but they particularly enjoyed being at their second home on Canandaigua Lake. There on the occasion of every birthday, he would jump off their 16’-high diving board. The last time he dove was on July 26, 2022, his 90th birthday. Jim also played golf and racquetball.
Jim and Joan sold their home in Rochester and, contrary to his assumption that he would never live in Florida, purchased the home in Estero. Thereafter they divided their time between Canandaigua Lake and Estero. In Florida, they became active members of the West Bay Club, where Jim golfed. He also took up sculpting in stone, volunteered in a soup kitchen, and developed an interest in pickleball.
Hamilton exerted a powerful and beneficial influence upon Jim who, in his 50th reunion yearbook, wrote that he was “positively influenced by the rigorous expectations of the Hamilton curriculum and the example of people like Win Tolles and [basketball] coach Ken Patrick.” His time on the Hill “gave me discipline, which enabled me to go on with my education and carried over into my business career. Courses in English composition, public speaking, art, and music have had a beneficial impact on my career and enjoyment of life.”
Jim supported Hamilton through generous financial contributions and extensive service to the College. He was a member of his class committee, reunion planning committee, and reunion gift committee. He served on the Alumni Council and was an officer in the Alumni Association. He volunteered for the Priorities for Hamilton capital campaign as well. From 1981 until 1985, he was an alumni trustee.
James D. Ryan is survived by his wife; brother-in-law Stephen C. Kinsky ’71; five children, including daughters Megan Ryan Kelley ’84 and Maura Ryan Minges ’85, P’15; son-in-law Frederick “Fritz” J. Minges ’83, P’15; 19 grandchildren, including Kurt James Minges ’15; and 14 great-grandchildren.
