Memory Ann Bayliss Ryan

Memory Ann Bayliss Ryan, a native of Pueblo, Colorado and Cincinnati, Ohio, died in Atlanta/Tucker, Georgia from congestive heart failure on September 27, 2025 at the age of 91 while living under the care of her daughter Heather Ryan, VNHS Hospice of Atlanta, and Agape Hospice Care of Georgia since 2020.

Memory received her undergraduate degree in medical technology from the College of Mt. St. Joseph and master's degrees in Montessori education and counseling from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Her career life included working in clinical and research laboratories, teaching, and eventually operating her own career management business providing guidance to those seeking changes in employment.

Memory volunteered for numerous organizations, including Democratic campaigns, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and Shared Hope International. Memory had an active family life with her husband, Jim, and their three children. She enjoyed reading, writing, watercolor painting, photography, and traveling domestically and abroad, along with a special love for animals, nature, and the mind-body practices of Tai Chi and Qigong. A deeply spiritual woman of multi-denominational faith, Memory especially found fulfillment in the teachings and philosophy of Buddhism and the Tao.

Memory was married for 50 years to James J. Ryan Sr., an attorney and mediator, until he passed away in 2009. Jim served as an officer in the US Army during peacetime. In 2013, Memory became the partner of Ben Hayes, a veteran of WWII who served in the Eastern Theater until the end of the war. In his youth Ben was an Olympic swimmer, later working in sales and real estate until his death in 2018.

Prior to her death, Memory asked that the following messages be conveyed.

To her friends and family: I love you all and will watch over you from "the other side".

To her children: I love you dearly. You have been my life. We were intended to meet, to be together. Thank you for loving me, like God does, for my real nature, not the one that fell from time to time.

Memory is survived by her three beloved children, James J. Ryan Jr. (Meg), Shannon Ryan (Jerry "Boomer" Boehm) and Heather Ryan; her grandchildren Carrie Worthy (Brendan), Cate, Brigid and James Ryan, and Jake, Kiley, Jack and Emmy Pippenger; her brother John Schmitz, his wife Christine, and their daughter Elizabeth; her sister Victoria Schmitz; her sister Barbara Eells and her children Vikki, Dan, and Randy; her sister Joan Jerome, her husband Tom, and their children Lori Conger, Mark, Steven and Darrin; and the family of Ben Hayes: Nancy, Tom, their son Ryan (Sara), Ryan's children Leah and Claire, their son Terry (Emily), and Terry's children Cam and Cooper; Patrick, his wife Nancy, their son Evan (Mia), and Evan's daughter Ellie; Robbyn and her daughters Kaylee Tepe (Matt) and Kyra Callahan. Memory was preceded in death by her niece, Cindy Jerome-Lacer.

Donations may be sent to any of the charities Memory supported, including ASPCA, Feeding America, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Shared Hope International, the Gaden Samdrupling Buddhist Monastery in Cincinnati, or your local hospice organization.