Obituary of Mary Margaret Ryan

As an avid reader, Mary Margret Ryan's (Maureen to all) life story is best told in chapters. We begin in the village of Horsevalley in Headford, County Galway on the West Coast of Ireland where Maureen was welcomed into this world by her loving parents Bridget and Harry Carroll. Her mom's daily brown bread was legendary. Harry was a house painter whose handywork could also be admired in churches and hotels throughout Galway. Maureen was the oldest of their four beautiful girls: Anne (Harrison), and the twins Josephine (Geraghety) and Patricia (Conroy). The many wonderful stories from Maureen's childhood and her love for her sisters and parents flowed from her at every family occasion, even more readily if a glass (or two) of Baileys was provided. At 17, with little more than a small suitcase, Maureen arrived at then-Idlewild Airport (later JFK) in New York City to set out on her next chapter. Supported by her extended family and friends already living in New York, she immediately found work at the Mutual of Omaha, later working as au pair for a wealthy family in Manhattan, and then in the accounts payable department at Chase Manhattan Bank's flagship headquarters downtown (then the sixth-tallest building in the world). Her next chapter was a long one and could be a book in its own right. She met her loving husband John (Jack) Ryan on a bus one day in Queens. They had a storybook marriage just shy of 60 years. Jack and Maureen had an only son, Devin, who she doted on. When not traveling back to Ireland for summer vacations with family or some other getaway, Maureen was known to the families in the neighborhood as a school crossing guard. Donned in her yellow rain gear on inclement days or her heavy winter coat during burtual winters, she crossed the neighborhood kids (including her son) on their daily trips to and from school. When Jack retired after 35 plus years with the NYPD, Maureen also decided to hang up her crossing guard whistle, so they could move into the retirement chapter together. Whether it was cruises or trips with close friends, time spent back in Ireland or visiting their son and his wife (Anita) and granddaughter (Lucy) in Virginia, they were always on the go together. They were an inseparable pair rarely seen not together. They were truly one unit: Maureen and Jack. Unfortunately, after more than 20 incredible years of retirement, Maureen's trips to oncologists became more common. Cancer doesn't warrant its own chapter, nor should it in anyone's life. It should be relegated to a mere footnote in an otherwise beautiful story. Maureen fought long and hard to keep from having to even mention it in her life's story. Her last page ends at the home she loved so much in Woodside with her immediate family by her side. She was resting peacefully when she passed, knowing she would soon be welcomed into heaven by her parents and her first granddaughter, Janie Margaret, as well as countless other family and close friends who helped fill the many pages of her wonderful life. We wish there were more pages for us to turn. But, alas, God must have needed someone to help clean up the place and Maureen was the right woman for the job. Visitation will be Thursday, October 5 from 4-8PM at Edward D. Lynch Funeral Home, Inc, 43-07 Queens Boulevard, Sunnyside, NY. Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, October 6, 2023 at St. Teresa RCC, 44th Street And 50th Avenue, Woodside, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Maureen's name to one of her favorite charities: Shriners Hospitals for Children, available at the link https://donate.lovetotherescue.org/give/119312/#!/donation/checkout?c_src=lttr-home-slider