RYAN

JAMES JOHNSON

Jim Ryan, the original and long-term operator of Boyce Park Ski Area, has passed away. He caught the attention of the Allegheny County commissioners while operating Piper Hill Ski Area in Bucks County, outside of Philadelphia. In 1963, he became director of a new local ski area, Boyce Park. He operated Boyce Park for three decades, employing countless students from Plum and Gateway High Schools as well as some of their parents. He attended Friends Select School and Germantown Academy before graduating from Temple University. He served in Germany with the US Army. In 1961, he married Susan Enright of Mt. Lebanon.

He was a ski area operator, a pioneer in the snowmaking industry, a builder, a land developer, a stock market enthusiast, a philanthropist, and a volunteer. In the mid-1960s, he saw great opportunity in a little, unknown area in Florida called Bonita Springs. He purchased his first land parcel from a management syndicate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. There, he spent the next few decades as a land developer and philanthropist. Later years saw Jim and Susie as early "seasonal" residents of Cashiers, NC, then Greenville, SC, eventually settling by their daughter in San Mateo, CA.

His great joy was helping people in their schooling and business endeavors and getting through difficult times. He was just as comfortable with tradesmen as he was with executives. Even as his Alzheimer's progressed, his humor, appreciation, and kindness remained. He leaves behind and will be greatly missed by his wife of 64 years, Susie; son, Brendan (Linda); daughter, Tierney Beizer (Jon); and five grandchildren, Kevin and Lauren Ryan and Jake, Luke, and Cory Beizer.

A Mass followed by a Celebration of Life in San Mateo will be announced in the future. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Silverado Memory Care Belmont Hills, 1301 Ralston Ave., Belmont, CA, 94002.