Helen Therese Ryan

Helen Therese (Alerding) Ryan died Monday, July 11, 2011 at Norwood Hospital. Terry was an amazing force and spirit so beloved within her family, her friendships, nursing community, veterans and social organizations in Walpole and far beyond.

Terry's great love for life and everyone around her is a joy to all who knew her. Her bright humor, her caring, faith and career of service is an inspiration.

She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 3, 1930 and lived in the Boston area most of her life, the past 51 years in Walpole. Terry was a respected nurse at Norwood Hospital for more than 20 years.

She leaves her son Robert J. Ryan and his partner Alan J. Harmon of Severna Park, Maryland, and her daughters Lorraine Ryan Berry and husband Michael of Wenham, Therese Ryan Barning and husband Frederick of Oakdale, Connecticut and four grandchildren: Devan Berry of San Diego, California, Christopher Berry of Wenham, Benjamin Barning and Sarah Barning of Oakdale, Connecticut. She was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, William J. Ryan, and by her youngest son, James Ryan, M.D. She was the oldest of seven children, of whom a brother and three sisters remain.

Terry was a graduate of the Dorchester High School for Girls and Boston City Hospital School of Nursing, later earning her bachelor's degree at St. Joseph's College in Maine. She enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and served proudly during the Korean Conflict as a 1st lieutenant in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea where she met her husband William. She was an Army nurse in the Korean Conflict working, at age 21, only a mile behind the front lines in a MASH unit.

In recent years, she worked vigorously a'" and successfully -- for appropriate recognition for women members of the military and in veterans service organizations. Few could resist her cheery but firm resolve and the rightness of her causes.

Terry Ryan was extremely active in civic affairs serving in leadership positions including the Walpole Women's Club, where she was past president, the Walpole Council on Aging, and the Walpole Republican Town Committee. She served as an elections poll judge for many years. Terry was a Eucharistic Minister at Blessed Sacrament Church.

She was a proud cheerleader for her children's and grandchildren's athletic, artistic, musical and academic endeavors. She was a huge Red Sox fan, a great teller of jokes a'" with never a repeat. No one was married or born across her extended family without a Terry Ryan hand-knitted afghan arriving as a treasured gift. Terry was an important supporter and cheerleader for the Town of Walpole a'" its gardens, its senior service organizations, blood drives. A big fan of Walpole sports and was glued to the coverage of the Walpole Little League's national championship. She spearheaded fundraising by the Walpole Women's Club for a new flag annually for the center of Walpole and was invited to speak to schoolchildren and many groups in Walpole about her experiences as a wartime nurse.

She was the special force that bonded her loving family, the one to whom all turned for advice, guidance and a smile. Caring so much for others, it is sure that she would be right now working to ease the ache her passing leaves in so many hearts.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the Saint Mary's Church 176 Washington Street East Walpole on Friday, July 15th, 2011 at 9AM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Visiting hours are Thursday, July 14th, 2011 from 4pm to 8pm at the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home 48 Common Street Walpole. Interment Saint Francis Cemetery Walpole. Memorial donations may be made to either: Walpole Women's Club c/o Marinelli 226 West Street Walpole, Massachusetts 02081 or Friends of the Walpole Council on Aging Post Office Box 186 East Walpole, Massachusetts 02032.