Obituary of Thomas Arthur Ryan

Thomas ("Tom") Arthur Ryan, Jr., 77, of State College, died Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at Foxdale Village. Born June 12, 1940, in Ithaca, New York, he was the son of the late Thomas Arthur Ryan and Mary Shaw Ryan. On April 26, 1986, he married Lauri Perman, who survives in State College. Their son, Nathaniel Arthur "Nate" Ryan, survives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Tom was a pioneer in the field of statistical computing. While teaching introductory statistics at Penn State, Tom was one of three faculty members who developed Minitab software, with Tom having the lead programming role. He served as Minitab Inc.'s first president from 1983 to 1988. Minitab was one of Penn State's first Ben Franklin Technology Partnership success stories. In 1987, Tom was named finalist for an Entrepreneur of the Year Award for an emerging business from Arthur Young/VENTURE Magazine. Today Minitab is used in more than 4000 colleges and universities around the world and over 90% of Fortune 100 companies. After leaving Minitab,Tom's leadership skills were sought in the Quaker world. He clerked all three Quaker institutions in State College: the Friends Meeting, the Friends School Board, and the Foxdale Village Board. He edited the Friends Meeting's weekly bulletin for years, and also created and maintained for several years the first web pages for the local Meeting and for Baltimore Yearly Meeting, a regional Quaker body. A1962 graduate of Wesleyan College, Tom received a PhD in Mathematics from Cornell in 1969. After two years at Columbia University, Tom came to Penn State, where he remained on the faculty in the Department of Statistics for 30 years, retiring as Associate Professor Emeritus in 1999. He was a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. Tom loved music, woodworking, gardening, good food, and cooking for friends and family. He enjoyed teaching woodworking to children and derived pleasure from serving for three years as a volunteer math tutor and teacher at Centre Learning Community charter school. He liked reading, playing recorder, and working out. In recent years, he loved exercising in Foxdale's therapy pool. Two years ago, he traveled to Mohonk Mountain House for a wonderful family vacation. Tom was gentle and kind, with a strong sense of humor. He was always cheerful, with twinkling blue eyes and a smile that transformed his whole face. Also surviving are his sister, Adelaide "Susie" Lyon (Stephen); nephew, Thomas Lyon (Danielle) of Canandaigua, New York; niece Laura Lyon (Michael Lococo) and grand-nephew Ryan Lococo of Poughkeepsie, New York; and many cherished cousins. Tom's family is grateful for the skilled and loving care he received in Foxdale Village's health center since 2012. A memorial meeting followed by a reception will be held Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017 at 2 p.m., at the State College Friends Meeting, 611 E. Prospect Ave., State College, PA. All are welcome. Burial was in Friends Cemetery, Halfmoon Valley. Memorial gifts may be given to the Friends Committee on National Legislation, 245 Second St., NE, Washington, DC 20002, or at www.fcnl.org; the Foxdale Village Employee Assistance Fund, 500 E. Marylyn Ave., State College, PA 16803; or a charity of the donor's choice. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.