Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-12-12
ANSWERED THE LAST CALL.
Thomas Curran Ryan, One OF Wausaus Abest and Most
Beloved Citizens, Passed Away Sunday Evening.

Its with feelings of great sadness
that we are called upon in this issue
of the PILOT to chronicle the death
of Thomas Curran Ryan, an eminent
| LAWYER, a soldier of the rebellion, a
profound thinker, a genial gentle-
man, and citizen beloved not only
by the community in which he llYed,
but throughout the state, wherever
known. Mr.. Ryan's death was not
unexpected. While not very rugged
for several years, his general health
was very good until about two months
ago when he was taken very i'll Win
stomach trouble. He improved from
this attack sufficiently to,sit up ana
there was every reason TO nope LOT MS
early recovery But on November
oath, he became desperately III, ana
the only hope of prolonging his lie
was to pass through an operation.
He was taken TO st. Mary'S hospltal
and by minor operation was given
much relief. 1t was evident to his
physicians that his life was fast eDD-
ing away. Mr.. Ryan also realized
this and viewed the approach OF dis
solution in the same philosophical
way that has been so characteristic
of him in all matters which engrossed
his mind Throughout his illness
there were expressions of sorrow on
every hand And now that this ex-
lcellent man has passed away, there
are hosts of warm friends who mourn
with the family and relatives over
| his demise. Death came at 8 o'clock
Sunday evening, Dec. 10th, 1911 and
he passed away surrounded by the
members of his family.
Mr.. Ryan had been citizen OF
, Wausau for over thirty years and
during that time devoted his energies
to the practice of his profession. He
was looked upon as one of the fore
most attorneys and counsellors in
Wisconsin, and he merited this dis
| tinction. Not only in his profession
| did he gain prominence, but as a
| writer as well. He wrote several
books which were widely circulated,
among them s'O'Hooligan's Fine
Forms" a satire on the appellate
courts of the country; and Finite
/ and Infinite.'' He was a regular con-
! tributor to the Popular Astronomy, "
and the publishers issued his articles
on "Solar Apex and ''Solar System"
in pamphlet form and widely dis
tributed them.
His mind often turned to questions
of religious nature and upon these he
| loved to talk and write. He was
member of the First Universalist
church of this city and for many
years and up to the slime of his last
| illness, he was teacher Of the bible
class of that church. In politics he
was an uncom promising democrat
and the PILOT has been honored with
many profound editorials on questions
| of vital Importance from his gifted
pen. He never sought official position
| but was satisfied to do yeoman'S work
in the rank and file of his party.
We well remember an incident
which occurred nearly two years ago,
which illustrated the respect and es-
TEEN in which brother lawyers held
M. Ryan. 1t was at the time the
Marathon county bar met in Febru-
airy, 1909, to pay respects to Abraham
Lincoln at the centennial of his birth.
| Mr. Ryan was one of the speakers of
| that afternoon, and was the only
man present, aside from few old
soldiers, who had ever seen the great
emancipation. Another member OF
the bar, in speaking of "Lincoln as a
Lawyer said that SO near as he could
ascertain Lincoln was not what
| might be termed law student, but
at that time it seemed that young
men were admitted to the bar largely
on their strength of character. Mr..
Ryan interrupted the speaker to say
that that was the case in many in
stances at the time he was studying
law. The speaker turned to him,
and in words as near as we can re-
call them said: "Mr. Ryan, while |
am sure that your good character
would admit you anywhere, it was
not that characteristic alone which
admitted you to the barr. The hand
clapping which followed manifested
that all present conceded in the
speakers expression.
He was an honored member of the
Knights of Pythias and Grand army
Post of Berlin, Wis.
Mr.. Ryan, while resident of Ber-
lin, came to Wausau in the early '70's