On Dec. 10, the center aisle of St. Joseph’s Church was lined with Needham Exchange Club members as their former president was laid to rest.
An almost 50-year resident, Kevin Ryan, 78, was many things to many people. To me, he was my across-the-street neighbor and surrogate parent, as my own were far away. He was also a shining example of how to live life right and what it means to be part of a community.
As his son Jeff mentioned on Tuesday, his love of family and his devotion to his wife, children and grandchildren were paramount. Kevin and Ann, his wife of 54 years, were inseparable and even shared the same birthday. To the very end, he referred to her as his bride and his children and grandchildren as his pride and joy.
“Dad rarely, if ever, missed any event involving his kids even when one of us really wanted to stay home,” Jeff said. “A love of family and living a life in service to others were cornerstones of my dad’s life and something I’ll always try to honor him by imitating.”
When my husband Chris and I began having children, Kevin impressed on us not to miss the moments. “Work will be there tomorrow,” he’d say. “Leave early and go to the games.” He encouraged his IBM colleagues to do the same. He coached many Little League teams in his day, and his was the voice in my husband’s head as Chris began volunteering to coach.
An American flag always flew beside Kevin’s front door, and his sense of civic responsibility was evident in his work with the Exchange Club and the Knights of Columbus. He believed in doing his part.
One of his responsibilities for many years was helping deliver the Exchange Club-sponsored phone books. When my oldest was little, Kevin would invite him along to help. Happy to put his little red wagon to use, my son would load the books and the two would go door to door. And every summer he worked tirelessly to help put on the Fourth of July festivities and would bring my boys flags ahead of the parade. At the time I thought these were simply sweet gestures, but I later realized these gestures were his unassuming way of leading by example and instilling these values in the next generation.
On Bennington Street, the running joke has always been that no one could compete with Kevin’s lawn care. A few tried — and many simply tried to keep up — but his lawn was always perfectly mowed, and he was often found surveying the property to ensure nothing was amiss. To some, this may speak to a meticulous nature. But what I saw was a man who felt lucky to have what he had, and he was going to take care of it the best he could.
He also took care of all of us. If a package was delivered in the rain, he would call to let us know. If one of the neighbors was away, he would take those packages in. Every time I left the house without closing the front door, he would walk across the street and close it for me. He would watch from his doorway if anything aroused suspicion. And with every new baby on the street, a new Kevin fan was born. To him, this was a way of life, taking care of everyone.
For our family, and for the many others who knew him, Kevin Ryan will be synonymous with Needham, inextricably one. And it is impossible to imagine this town — and especially our street — without him.
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