In honor of Ryan:
The following memorial funds have been set up:
- The Patterson Family has requested in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to The Metuchen –Edison YMCA. In the memo section of your check, please note: in memory of Ryan Patterson.
Ryan,
Thanks for always being a great role model for the kids, for providing inspiration and for endlessly showing how much you cared for and about everyone on the team! You will be missed, but not forgotten.
Ryan, Can’t believe you are gone……
So young, so kind, so gentle, and so loving……
We thank God for setting you free from pain and sorrow. We know you will always be a part of us. You will always look down from Heaven with a sweet smile on your angelic face just to see how MEY swimmers are going to excel. You will whisper in their ears as they try their best to pull and to kick. You will cheer for them as they bring home the medals……
Words simply cannot express our gratitude for all that you have done for all of us. Thank you for having lived a beautiful life!
You will always live in our hearts……
Revelation 14:13
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
Ryan,
Words cannot say how much you will be missed. What a wonderful role model you were for the swim team and life itself, your dedication was an inspiration to all. We are truly blessed for knowing you and will always forever stay in our hearts.
Ryan, you are now with our kind and loving Father and the angels in heaven. Our hearts weep with your Mom – Marie, Dad – Michael, Sister – Danielle,and all your relatives, and friends. We will miss you. Our fond memories of you with the MEY swimmers and the girls club shall forever remain.
The Metuchen Y and our swiming community lost one its brightest stars with Ryan’s passing. Her wonderful legacy and spirit will live in all the swimmers she coached and lives she touched. Rest In Peace.
Jay
Ryan, we are going to misse you so much and you alwayse will be in our hearts.
For Michelle you always will be her hero, as she wrote a year ago in her english esay,”For me, a hero is trustworthy, a big part of your life, and is beneficial for shaping yourself into the person you want to become, and my swim coach Ryan Patterson fits all those credentials. She is my hero.”
Thank you for that Ryan.
Alina, Mike, Michelle Kierencew
Dear Ryan, You will be dearly missed.
Dulani always looked up to you. Thanks for helping her with her Breastroke, and showing her what swimming was really all about.
She will forever be grateful. May you rest in peace.
Jagath & Lilantha Kankanamge
Dear Ryan, You will be dearly missed.
Dulani always looked up to you. Thanks for helping her with her breastroke, and showing her what swimming was really all about.
She will forever be grateful. May you rest in peace.
Ryan,
We will always remember you, Thank you for being in our lives, teaching kids to love the sport of swimming. Your dedication and passion will be truly missed.You always will be in our hearts…
Only the good die young! These words ring true in Ryan’s case:
A good swimmer,A good student,A good coach,A good daughter,A good friend,A good person…
We will never forget talking to you over dinner this last February at Gloucester; you were so enthusiastic about your job in the City. You described in front of Jessie Schmidt and Daniel, how you felt morally obligated to give back to less fortunate children because in your childhood in Metuchen you had been blessed with so much! We all gained a new respect and admiration for you that evening and I remember thinking that your parents must have been so proud of you.
Thank you for being such a wonderful role model to our children. We will never forget you and your example.
Coach Ryan, you are one of the best coaches I ever had. You are the one who made me achieve all my goals. I remember like it was yesterday. It was a meet at Rutgers, I was ready to swim my 200 free. When I got up on the block seeing you ready to cheer me on. While I was swimming I realized that I was half a pool ahead of everyone, and thats when I peeked to see you…… coach Ryan……. You were jumping and screaming !!! That was one of the most happiest days in my life. I got out of that pool jumping with joy together with you. I will never forget and I will always keep you as a memory. Making sure every time when I’m swimming, I will think of you and tell myself any gold or national cut I make is 100% feasible.
As I clicked open the e-mail, I was thinking to myself excitedly. “Maybe Ryan will come back to coach”, since the email title was “Coach Ryan”. After overcoming my shock, I realize how finite everything is and how everything will end. But the more I thought about it, the more I realize Ryan isn’t dead. She lives on in the swimmers she coached. She passed on her life ideals, her will and her courage. In just that, Ryan has become immortal. When I grow up, I hope to impart the lessons i learned from Ryan into the next generation, continuing her “immortality”.
I only known Ryan for a few years, and in that little amount of time, she impacted me so much. Credit goes to her when i went from all bronze cuts to nationals within a year when i was 12. It’s interesting, how even death can’t stop her from motivating swimmers. She newly reinvigorate our entire team into swimming fast in dedication to her memory. Thank you isn’t enough to express our gratitude.
I usually watched Ryan coach through the window at Wardlaw for hours. I was always amazed by how this young lady could electrify the team. She was coaching on the deck, but you felt as if she was swimming with the swimmers. Liz often told me “Ryan’s set was difficult, but somehow she made us want to swim for her.”
Through observing years of her coaching, I noticed that Ryan had a heart of compassion, gentleness, and thoughtfulness; not only to the swimmers, but people in general. She was not just a swimming coach; she was a genuine human being that touched and still touches the lives of people and helped each individual build character.
I remember during those hard years when the team was in chaos and had no direction, Ryan was the chemistry that brought the team together.
Now, Ryan is rested with the Lord. Her impact to her swimmers and the people around her will never diminish. Ryan will be remembered as a coach with dedication and passion, but also as a person with great love and humanity.
Ryan,
You will be forever missed by everyone including me. You were kind, hard working and you always turned our frowns upside down even after we lost. You will always be in our hearts. Girls Black or any of MEY will never be the same.
Coach Ryan…
It’s been about four weeks since your passing, and I still can’t believe you’re gone.
I really do remember like it was yesterday. Private lessons, practices, meets…
You were always on the poolside deck, and helping me overcome my struggles. I can never forget your voice ringing out at meets, filling the entire building, cheering for the MEY team.
When I think of you, so many words come to mind. Selfless, compassionate, loving. You were more concerned for the rest of us than for yourself. Even though you knew you were sick, you devoted and dedicated your life for the sake of the MEY team and for us swimmers. And for that, I truly am grateful.
You touched many people, especially me, and I now aspire to live a life like you did.
What I would give to see you again…
But I know you are not gone. You remain in the hearts of us, and presently in the Lord’s kingdom, where we shall all meet once again.
Thank you, Coach Ryan, for a legacy that will last a lifetime.
Coach Ryan
You were a great Coach who had many wonderful personalities. I’m sure there is a place in our hearts for you in all of us and you will always be remembered. Thank you for everything, Rest in Peace Coach Ryan.