Venice Alton Ryan Jr.

Venice Alton Ryan Jr. was born in Lubbock, Texas, on October 2, 1937, to Venice Alton “Pete” Ryan Sr. and Pansy Anna Kelly Ryan.  He departed this life with his family by his side on Sunday, December 11, 2022, in Lubbock, Texas, after a lengthy illness.  He is survived by his son Patrick Alton Ryan and wife Sheryl of Lubbock, grandchildren Makenna Ryan of Oklahoma City, OK, and Tucker Ryan of Lubbock, TX.  Bonus grandchildren Krystle Merry and husband Robert of Fort Smith, AR, Harrison James and wife Jeanna of Camp Lejeune, NC, and Alexandra James-Garcia and husband Rene of Midland, TX.  Bonus great-grandchildren Clair, Beau, Luke Merry, Zoey Hebert, and Lexi Walker. Brothers Dr. Mike Ryan of Odessa, TX, Louis Ryan of Lubbock, TX, sister Kay Niemeyer of Peaster, TX, and sister-in-love Brenda Herndon, of Odessa, TX, as well as many beloved nieces, nephews, and their families.  He was preceded in death by his parents, the first love of his life, wife Patsy Tusing Ryan of San Diego, CA, the second love of his life, wife Pattie Voorhies Ryan, sisters Linda Waddell, Rita Ryan, and brothers Daniel “Danny” Ryan and Carol Ryan.

As a young teen, Alton grew up in Lubbock and played in his parent’s band, Pete Ryan and the Prairie Drifters.  He was a talented musician and could play guitar, keyboard, and saxophone, but his favorite was the clarinet.  He loved jazz and big band music, his favorite was Glenn Miller.  After high school, he joined the Navy, where he met Patsy Tusing in San Diego, married, and adopted Patrick.  However, Patsy passed suddenly at a young age, and Alton raised Patrick from the age of 3 as a single parent, with the help of family.  He subsequently retired after 20 years in the Navy as a Senior Chief Master Petty Officer and sonar technician, moved home to Lubbock, and went to work for Texas Instruments in the plant and became an electrical engineer.  He then met Pattie Voorhies in Lubbock and married again.  They moved to Dallas, where he became the Vice President of Imports and Engineering for Texas Instruments.  If you needed help with math, he was your guy!  He traveled extensively in the far east on behalf of TI.  They created products like TI calculators, Speak and Spell, Speak and Read, Speak and Learn, Speak and Math, the Little Professor, Dataman, and the TI994A computer.  His group engineered, built, and hand-delivered the Speak and Spell used in Steven Spielberg’s movie E.T.  He then retired again from TI after 30 years and returned home to Lubbock to be near family.

Alton was a very active volunteer at the Hub of the Plains AA program, where he served on the District AA Board, Lubbock Lions Club, where he attended weekly, Salvation Army, where he served on the Advisory Board, and where his parents originally met performing, and the Lubbock County Appraisal Review Board.  He still managed to play golf every Friday. This time of year, you’d find him ringing the Salvation Army bells, counting kettles, and shuttling bell ringers, in February working the Lions Club Pancake Festival raffle, and all year long selling AA books to those fighting alcoholism and addiction.  This year he would be 30 years sober.  He also helped the Salvation Army with homeless outreach in Lubbock during Survive the Night, various community events, and feeding first responders with the Salvation Army Canteen.  He also traveled to help disaster and hurricane victims all over the country with the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Assistance Relief Team. He also loved volunteering at the 4^th on Broadway Parade.

Alton was an avid golfer and enjoyed playing with his golf buddies Dave, Ronnie, Susan, and George weekly if it was warm.  His only known “hole in one” was Father’s Day in 2019, playing with Patrick and Sheryl.  He also enjoyed going to Hobbs each horse racing season with his good friend Phil Ryan, attending the very first race at that track and never missing an opening weekend in 20 years, and enjoyed the slot machines and Keno during Las Vegas trips with his business associates and family.  He was a super lucky guy!  He also loved crossword puzzles and game shows like Jeopardy, America Says, and Master Minds.  He was a trivia buff. He also loved his sports teams, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Texas Rangers, Dallas Cowboys, and the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, as long as they weren’t playing the Cowboys!  He was a beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend.  He will be very missed by all who knew him.

The family of Alton Ryan will host a gathering of family and friends for fellowship and remembrance from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Thursday, December 15, 2022, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers. A service to celebrate his life is scheduled at 2:00 PM on Friday, December 16, 2022, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers, immediately followed by an internment service at Lubbock Cemetery.  Services officiated by David Worthy of the Salvation Army.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the South Plains Salvation Army Kettle Campaign. https://give.salvationarmytexas.org/campaign/virtual-red-kettle-2022-south-plains-texas/c425623

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