Fr. Bo Ryan, 95, lived, served near Lake of the Ozarks for decades

Without hesitation, he would drop everything and hasten to help those in need, no matter the time or place. He wanted to give his life for you, for me.”

Deacon David Lovell, who assists the pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Laurie

SCROLL THE ARROWS to see a gallery of photos from the funeral.

Father C. Duane “Bo” Ryan’s friends prayed for him to be well and strong enough to attend the Jefferson City diocese’s Chrism Mass the week before Easter.

Then, they asked God to let him celebrate his 70th priestly anniversary in April.

Then, his 95th birthday over Memorial Day weekend.

Finally, they petitioned that whenever “Fr. Bo” did go home to meet God, he could do so peacefully and in the company of his extended family.

The fourth yes to their prayers came the morning of Aug. 1, when Fr. Ryan gently departed this life at his home in Sunrise Beach.

A priest of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese who had numerous ties to the Jefferson City diocese and its early history, “Fr. Bo” spent nearly 30 years living and ministering in retirement around the Lake of the Ozarks.

He had entered hospice care this past December yet remained joyful and very sharp until slipping into a coma the night before his passing.

“His death was just like he lived his life — gentle, unassuming and in control,” stated Edrea Eisenhauer, who served for 18 years as Fr. Ryan’s caregiver.

The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Aug. 9 in St. Patrick Church in Laurie, with Bishop W. Shawn Mc­Knight presiding, Father John Schmitz, pastor of St. Patrick Parish and the Mission of St. Philip Benizi, and other priests of the Jefferson City and Kansas City-St. Joseph dioceses concelebrating.

Burial was in Mount Olivette Cemetery in Kansas City.

Father Patrick Rush, a longtime friend and priest of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, preached the homily.

“As St. Paul writes, it is love that never comes to an end,” Fr. Rush said from the pulpit. “And Fr. Bo, in his patient, generous, witty manner, showed us all much love throughout his 70 years, his 95 years.”

He recalled that Fr. Ryan was a gentle person and a patient friend.

“He generously continued to minister as a pastor and priest long into his dotage and found it ‘awesome and thrilling’ to do so,” Fr. Rush stated.

“He was there for you,” Deacon David Lovell, who assists the pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Laurie, said at the vigil service the previous evening.

“Without hesitation, he would drop everything and hasten to help those in need, no matter the time or place,” the deacon recalled. “He wanted to give his life for you, for me.”

Right at home

Fr. Ryan was born on May 25, 1929, in Kansas City, the oldest of two children born to Clifford and Amelia Ryan.

Raised in a family that took its Catholic faith seriously, he began considering Priesthood while in grade school and attended high school seminary in Kansas City and St. Louis Preparatory Seminary and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis.

On April 3, 1954, in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Archbishop Edwin V. O’Hara of what was then the Diocese of Kansas City ordained Fr. Ryan and nine others to the Holy Priesthood for that diocese.

Among them were five priests who would become priests of the Jefferson City diocese upon its creation in 1956.

Fr. Ryan’s priestly mentor also became a priest of this diocese.

The pastor of the first parish where Fr. Ryan served in Kansas City was Monsignor Michael F. McAuliffe, who later became the second bishop of Jefferson City.

Fr. Ryan served as associate pastor and then as pastor of several parishes in his home diocese, in addition to time spent as a high school teacher and administrator and as overseer of Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph’s work in St. Joseph.

He was founding pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Independence.

He served in several other parishes in his home diocese before surviving a stroke and retiring to a vacation home he had built near the Lake of the Ozarks.

He did fill-in work for priests in surrounding parishes and eventually became associate pastor of the Laurie parish and the Mission pf St. Philip Benizi in Versailles.

Helen Franken, a longtime congregant at St. Philip Benizi, marveled at the thoughtfulness of the homilies Fr. Ryan preached there each Sunday for 17 years.

She said it was as if he had studied the Sacred Scriptures his entire life.

When the pastor in Laurie became seriously ill, Fr. Ryan stepped in to serve as associate pastor there in addition to his duties in Versailles.

Fr. Ryan then served as temporary administrator for a few months after the pastor died.

Fr. Ryan gradually stepped back from regular ministry as his health became more difficult to manage.

He continued to fill in at parishes near the Lake of the Ozarks after moving to a smaller home in Sunrise Beach.

He continued pursuing his passion for music, including piano, banjo and guitar, into his last days, along with studying French, German and Spanish.

“His ability to remember absolutely everyone’s name was incredible,” said Deacon Lovell. “Years after meeting someone, he would call them by their first name.”

Upon the 70th anniversary of his priestly ordination this year, he said he’s grateful for his memories and his Priesthood.

“I’m so happy to be able to be a part of this diocese and to feel accepted and welcome, and I’ve loved ministering to people,” he said at that time.

“One cool cat”

“Our family joke is that cats have nine lives, and Fr. Bo had 15,” John Stiles, the youngest of the priest’s seven nieces and nephews, stated in a eulogy before the funeral.

Over the years, Fr. Ryan recovered remarkably from a stroke, getting pinned under a golf cart, heart blockage and quadruple bypass surgery, a Good Friday car wreck that broke both of his legs, and aortic valve replacement in his 90s.

Mr. Stiles said Fr. Ryan, who drove ugly cars and toured the Lake in a pontoon boat “that looked like it was held together with bailing wire and duct tape,” held nothing back from his family or the souls under his care, in the mode of a good bartender who knows to “pour, don’t measure.”

“There were many times in life when I would complain about something to Fr. Bo,” his nephew stated. “He would just listen, and then, he’d say, ‘I know. But let it go.’

“Fr. Bo never rattled,” said Mr. Stiles. “He was just calm. He was one cool cat. And he never measured.”

Ms. Eisenhauer called to mind Fr. Ryan’s insatiable curiosity and instinctive compassion.

“He was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it was words of wisdom and kindness and never judgmental,” she said.

She noted that he responded to every call when people needed the Sacraments or just a listening ear.

Gifted in sports, music, languages and preaching, he was constantly studying, constantly listening.

“He had such great respect for people, a deep appreciation for nature in all its forms,” she said.

“It won’t matter”

Fr. Schmitz visited Fr. Ryan regularly and anointed him a few days prior to his passing.

His loved ones spent their last hours with him, praying, telling stories and singing.

Fr. Rush said Fr. Ryan was at peace with death and ready to pass into it. 

He called to mind Fr. Ryan’s family’s claim that he had 15 lives.

“I think they are right, and each of those lives were well lived,” he said.

Fr. Ryan’s great-great-niece, Caroline, wrote a note to him on the back of a photo of him and her at Silver Dollar City.

“I know that Jesus and the saints will welcome you with warm, open hands,” she wrote. “I will pray for your intercession when I need help and also in times of thanks! May God watch over you and love you and may the angels forever lay on your pillow!”

Deacon Lovell said Fr. Ryan had many gifts from God and he did not hesitate to share with others.

“And so, today, we celebrate,” said Deacon Lovell. “We celebrate the culminate of a rich life filled with merits and virtue. A life of selfless love.”

Mr. Stiles recalled a deep discussion he once had with Fr. Ryan about what they thought heaven would be like.

The nephew asked: “Will we know if there was a second shooter at Dealey Plaza or whether UFOs exist?”

“We will,” the priest replied. “But it won’t matter.”

Mr. Stiles found this answer confusing and distressing.

“However,” he stated, “the more you think about a place whether the little things don’t matter, that we will have knowledge but the whole focus is on something greater than our presence, it becomes an awesome-sounding place.”

He surmised that Fr. Ryan was on his way to spend eternity “with people he loves, who love him, and he is there with some people he helped get there.”

“Fr. Bo has helped to get US there,” the nephew stated. “He has set the example. Let us follow it. Let’s be like Fr. Bo.”

“Our faith tells us that Fr. Bo came from love and he is now returning to love — the love that is God himself,” said Bishop McKnight.

“I’m very much at peace knowing that Fr. Bo ran the marathon, fought the valiant fight and is now drinking in the beauty, love, compassion and peace of God,” said Ms. Eisenhauer.