David Ryan, 75, died peacefully at home surrounded by family on Saturday, December 9 ^th , 2017 in Denton, Texas after 18 months of battling cancer.

He leaves his wife of 47 years, Linda Ryan; sons Dan Greathouse, Rick Greathouse, and Mark Ryan; daughter Lisa Bracken; seven grandchildren; one great grandchild; two nieces and one nephew; numerous cousins; and many close friends.

He was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Marion Gibson Ryan and William Brown Ryan. A year after he was born, his father died in a plane crash while in the US Army Air Corp. He lived with his mother, older sister Sheila, and his grandparents. He attended Catholic schools and graduated from De LaSalle High School.

From a very early age, David showed an aptitude for fixing and building things and started earning money doing odd jobs around the age of 12. At age 15, he overhauled the engine of a 1949 Ford. At age 23, he bought an Aeronca Chief airplane, rebuilt it, and flew many hours.

He attended Rockhurst College in Kansas City for two-and-a-half years and then joined the Army Reserves at age 20. He took a civil service test and was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April of 1963. He trained for five years and became a Journeyman Air Traffic Controller at Chicago Center. He married Bernice Bruno on Feb 9th, 1963. They divorced in 1967.

In 1968, his job as an Air Traffic Controller ended abruptly due to being called back to active duty in the Army. He was sent to Bamberg, Germany. Although frustrated by this unexpected change, he enjoyed his time in Germany, traveling to Berlin and to several other countries in Europe. After 18 months in Germany, he spent five months at the Santa Monica, California flight training school on the GI Bill. He then moved back to Kansas City and started a business with a friend called R&R Motors specializing in repairing Volkswagens.

The day David went in to the office of J.C. Nichols Co. on the Plaza to close on his new house, he met Linda Greathouse. On their first date, he took her for a ride in the airplane he rebuilt. They were married a few months later in Las Vegas on January 29th, 1971. They saw Elvis live in concert.

Linda had three children prior to meeting David. At the time of Linda and David's marriage, Dan was seven years old, Lisa was five, and Rick was four. Unfortunately, their first attempt to have a child together ended in tragedy; on May 21st, 1972 Rachel Marion Ryan was stillborn. Two years later, their son Mark Anthony Ryan was born on November 26th, 1974.

In 1976, they built a house on 80 acres near Louisburg, Kansas. The new house was beautiful and David's children have many special memories of the house in Kansas. They had a pond, a horse named Beanie, and a St. Bernard named Daisy. David also built a facility in Louisburg to start a new auto repair business. Unfortunately, after several years, David's business was struggling and he was forced to give up the house.

In 1984 he was hired by the FAA and worked at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Tower and Approach Control. The family, except for Dan and Rick, moved to Denton, Texas.  Rick joined the Air Force in 1984 and Dan started working for the Johnson County Water District. Lisa graduated from the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton. Linda worked at UNT in the transcript department. Mark was attending grade school.

In 1987 David was transferred to DeRidder, Louisiana. He worked at the DeRidder Automated Flight Service Station. Mark attended junior high and high school there. In 1993, they moved into the house they built in Denton where they lived for 26 years. David continued to work in DeRidder, living in a motor home, and commuting to Denton every week for three years. He was transferred to Fort Worth Automated Flight Service and worked there until he retired in 2009.

David's children, inspired by their dad's strong work ethic, have had successful careers in diverse fields. Dan is still working for the Johnson County Water District in Kansas City. After Rick was discharged from the Air Force, he completed his A&P and FCC license and has been working for the airline industry ever since. Lisa has owned and operated a day care business for many years. Mark is a Licensed Psychological Associate and a musician.

Dan has one child, Chase. Lisa has three children, Bradley, Blake, and Brooke. Rick has three boys, Timothy, Brett, and Jake. Brad has one son Beau, David's first great grandchild.

David had a curious mind and a kind heart. A gentle man, his greatest joy came from playing with his grandchildren and helping friends and family with a variety of projects. Throughout his life, David spent much of his time helping everyone he knew, rebuilding and fixing cars, remodeling houses, and always being there for his family and friends. It's unlikely you'll meet someone he knew who he didn't help.

A commemoration will be held at Dan's Silverleaf (103 Industrial St.) in Denton from 1:00PM to 5:00 PM on December 17th, 2017.