Service

Bernice (Bee) Margery Doel Ryan

Bee Ryan, 92, entered into heavenly glory on 5 March 2022, in Aubrey, Texas, where she had been living with her son Patrick and daughter-in-law Terry for the past several years. She was born on 14 September 1929, in High Wycombe, England, to Margery Irene Simmonds and William Henry Doel, the third of their eight children.

A service to celebrate her life will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at 2:00 pm at Chance & Hydrick Funeral Directors, 2502 Richmond Hill Road, Augusta, GA, 30906. The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Park.

Bee was preceded in death by her husband, James W. C. Ryan (2011), and her eldest son Kevin W. Ryan (1998). Survivors include her sons, James A. Ryan (Elvira), Steven P. Ryan, Patrick W. Ryan (Terry), Jeffrey M. Ryan, Timothy D. Ryan Sr. (Alisa) & Christopher S. Ryan. Grandchildren include William F. Ryan, Robert W. Ryan, Clinton W. Ryan, Travis B. Ryan Sr., Jonathan D. Ryan, Jason M. Ryan, Mary Ryan Haddad, Kyle Ryan, Damon P. Stagakes, Emily S. Ryan, Timothy David Ryan Jr., J. Paul Ryan, Alan J. Ryan, & Dottie Ryan White. She also is survived by twenty-two great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews in England.

She enlisted in the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) on 9 March 1950 in London, England. She married a Yank (American), soldier James W. C. Ryan, later that year. They would be together for the next 61 years. They returned to the United States in 1955, where they were stationed in several states.

The Ryan family first came to Augusta in early 1962, when Jim Ryan was assigned to Civil Affairs at Fort Gordon. Bee ran the household during Jim’s tour in Vietnam (1966-1967) and unaccompanied short tours of duty. Most of their family relocated to Okinawa, Japan, for his next assignment in 1969. The family returned to Augusta in 1971. Following her husband’s retirement from the Army in 1972, they chose to remain in Augusta with their family permanently.

She had worked in Augusta throughout the years in various sales and store management positions. In her later years, she provided childcare in her home to several children, who she loved as if they were her own grandchildren.

Mrs. Ryan was a member of Fleming Baptist Church and was previously a member of Burns Memorial United Methodist Church, where she and her husband sang for many years in the choir.

Chance & Hydrick Funeral Directors, 2502 Richmond Hill Road, Augusta, GA, 30906.

706-790-8567

Please sign the guestbook at www.chanceandhydrick.com