Sister Ellen (Honora) Ryan, SSND
November 29, 1933 – November 1, 2024
Born a Brooklynite on November 29, 1933, Ellen Elizabeth was the youngest child of John Ryan of Tipperary, Ireland, and Nora Ellen Ryan of Brooklyn. Ellen and her sister Grace, and brothers John, James and Frank delighted in growing up a block from Prospect Park where they rode the paddle boats in summer and skated in winter. “My father was the proprietor of a bar and grill; we lived on 11th Street for over 30 years.” Ellen and her siblings all went to St. Saviour School where they were taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
When she graduated from the eighth grade in January 1948, as was the New York custom of two graduations each year, Ellen went to the Juniorate in Fort Lee, NJ. where the other freshmen were halfway through the year. “Not the best arrangement for me as I was an average student, but with the help of Jeannette Blatz and Grace Messarge, I made it through freshman year.” After graduation in 1951, Ellen entered the Candidature in Baltimore, and two weeks later found herself on Long Island, NY, at St. Lawrence School teaching 33 third graders. Many years later, she wrote “I tried my best.” As a second year Candidate, she was sent to St. Mary School in Annapolis, to be a weekender at the Motherhouse while teaching first and second grades during the week.
Reception into the Novitiate in July 1953 brought Ellen the religious name of Mary Honora, and First Profession a year later sent her to Bryantown, MD, where she taught Junior High in the “colored” school for the next 14 years. The parish had separate grade schools for white and Black children. Sister Peg Regan said this about Ellen’s time in Bryantown:
Ellen cherished the Black kids and their families and spoke of those years as being foundational to her sense of life and Christianity. She once said that some of the white parents in the parish refused to speak to the Sisters who taught the Black students.
And this about Ellen herself:
I think of her as gentle, warm, kind, generous, simple -- not complicated, a good person. She had a great sense of humor and enjoyed sharing with all in community.
St. Mary’s integrated in 1967 and Honora stayed on for another three years to help in the transition. From 1970 to 1980, as a teacher of Junior High students, Ellen served at OLPH in Washington, DC; St. Boniface, Philadelphia; and three places in Camden, NJ: Center City Catholic School, Sacred Heart School, and St. Bartholomew School.
After her 29 years of teaching, Ellen followed her instinct that the people of the poor city of Camden had a greater need for health care than education. She became, first, a Home Health Aide with Community Health and Nursing Services; and then, in 1986, a Licensed Practical Nurse, having passed her State Boards at the Vocational Nursing Program of Camden Community College. During her 30 years in this ministry, Ellen became certified to do home care, which she especially loved, and also worked in units like acute care, geriatrics, and therapeutic recreation. Sister Peg Regan said at her Wake, “She went beyond what was required and helped heal spirits as well as bodies. Ellen treated everyone with kindness and a listening ear and would bring meals to needy patients.” Nine years of Ellen’s service, part time, from 2001 to 2010, were given at Lourdes Health Care Center, Villa Notre Dame.
During ten years when she lived alone in an apartment, Ellen enjoyed “time to cook, bake and sew, and do arts and crafts for my family and friends for Christmas.” Starting in 1982, she loved going on trips with her Profession “Crowd.” Some of their destinations were Lake Placid, NY; Bethany Beach; Ocean City, MD; Maine, Boston, Philly, The Grand Canyon; New York City, and Florida. Nineteen of these sisters went to Puerto Rico one Christmas. Ellen summed their bond up, “We had fun, and I have the pictures to prove it. I was the class photographer.” At Wilton, Ellen had a Christmas Tree in her bedroom. It was decorated seasonally for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Memorial and Flag Days. Her favorite holiday was Halloween; she always made herself a costume, parading around in it for everyone’s entertainment.
In addition to her medical credentials, Ellen had received the B.A. in Education from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (now University) in 1969, after many years of summer school study. In her autobiography she commented, “Thank God for changes” (in religious life).
Ellen’s funeral liturgy was presided over by Msgr. William Scheyd on November 7, 2024, at St. Andrew Church in Bridgeport, in the presence of the Watermark SSND Community and many members of her family. Maureen Fleming led the Wake Service; Sisters Peg Regan and Ethel Howley gave an account of Ellen’s life. At the liturgy, her nephew read from Ezekiel 34. Sisters will gather for the burial of cremains at St. Mary Cemetery, Bethel, CT, at a future date.
Sisters Kay O’Connell and Peg Regan
