Robert Grady Ryan

Robert (Rob) Grady Ryan, 66, of Houston, Texas passed away on July 14, 2025 after a 10-year battle with cancer. He was born in Findlay, Ohio on January 31, 1959 to the late Robert Eugene and Margaret Mary (Harrington) Ryan. His sister, Kathleen Rita Ryan (Schnabele) also proceeded him in death.

Rob is survived by his beloved wife, Vicki Lea (Cotten) Ryan, to whom he was married for 42 years. He is also survived by his two children, Michael G. Ryan of Geneva, Switzerland and Jennifer L. Ryan of Chicago, Illinois; niece Maggie G. Elgersma of Chicago, Illinois; father-in-law Richard H. Cotten of Findlay, Ohio; brother-in-law Steven H. Cotten (Jeff Howell) of Chicago, Illinois; and many members of his wonderfully close extended family of Harringtons, Collinses, and Comerfords.

Never bored and loving everything mechanical, Rob and his close friend, Jim Thomas (deceased), built minibikes, a go-kart, and a racing boat by the time they finished middle school. He graduated with honors from Findlay High School where he was Senior Class President. It was this role that helped him meet his wife, Vicki Cotten, at a Student Council session. They married seven years later in Findlay on July 2, 1983 at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church.

Rob graduated at the top of his Ohio Northern University class (BSME 1981), earning a Mechanical Engineering degree while also working part-time for Marathon Oil Company. A member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, he was also elected to Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi, receiving numerous outstanding student awards, including the Ohio Northern Medal for Scholastic Achievement. Rob later studied Petroleum Engineering and became a Registered Professional Petroleum Engineer. During his time overseas, he also completed the Executive Leadership & Management Program at ENSEAD, in France.

Rob joined Shell Oil Company in New Orleans, LA in 1981 and moved to Houston, TX in 1988 as a Division Engineer.  In 1991, he accepted an overseas assignment with Shell Gas & Power in London, UK followed by Malaysia, Australia, The Netherlands, and eventually Sakhalin, Russia. He lived and worked on five continents with his wife and two children. Rob served in many roles, but two of his favorites were VP Corporate Affairs (Houston) and VP Global Gas Business Development (The Hague). His last assignment for Shell was as the Technical Director on the largest oil & gas development project in the world at the time, the $25 billion Sakhalin II Project. While he loved working such challenging engineering problems, he retired at age 51 in 2010 to spend more time with family and friends back in the U.S.

After retiring, Rob served for many years on the Ohio Northern University Engineering Advisory Board where he was proud to be part of the school’s renewal and growth. He played a key role in the development of the new engineering building that opened in August 2019 and helped establish an innovative and successful student scholarship the following year.

The place where Rob always found peace and joy was the family cottage in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. While there, he liked to hike, water ski, sail, and ride dirt bikes and 4-wheelers. He also loved downhill skiing, a sport he did every winter either in the Rockies or in the Alps. Rob’s motto was: “As you can, until you can’t,” and he continued to snow ski even after cancer took his left arm and shoulder in late 2023.

There was never a time Rob wasn’t learning or doing something new, including authoring three non-fiction books: Irrational Hope, Defensible Faith, and Treasuring Time. A favorite hobby he and Vicki shared was photographing doors, as exemplified by a bound book beautifully capturing over 150 mysterious doors from around the world.  Above all else, his absolute greatest joy in life was spending time in any capacity with dear and loving family members and friends. He will long be remembered as a deep thinker, a man of strong faith, a true friend, and a wonderful husband and father.

Those of all denominations are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 26, 2025 at the original St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, West, 617 West Main Cross St, Findlay, Ohio, with Father Art Niewiadomski serving as Celebrant and assisted by Deacon Mike Eier.  Graveside services will be held nearby at St. Michael Catholic Cemetery immediately following Mass. A Celebration of Life reception where all may visit with the family will follow at Mancy's restaurant, located within the Hancock Hotel, 631 S. Main St., Findlay, OH, 45840. There will be no funeral home visitation and the family requests no flowers. Memorial contributions can be made to St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 750 Bright Rd, Findlay, OH 45840, or Holy Family Catholic Church, 115 E Cherry St, North Baltimore, OH 45872 as well as to the ONU Choice Scholarship for Engineering, ONU, 525 S. Main St, Ada, OH 45810. All gifts will be matched in kind by the Robert Ryan Family. Online condolences may be shared at www.hannemanfuneralhomes.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Robert Grady Ryan, please visit our floral store.