Ryan Companies chairman passes away at 98

TAMPA - Francis James Ryan, board chairman and patriarch of Ryan Companies since 1938, passed away recently from pneumonia. He was 98 years old, and worked at Ryan for 73 of those years. His guiding vision helped to shape the company into one of the nation’s leading real estate developers.

A lifetime resident of Hibbing, Minn., Ryan was part of the founding team of Ryan Companies, working alongside his father, James Henry Ryan.

As board chairman, he never missed a meeting in 25 years.

Ryan is preceded in death by his wife, Clarice, and is survived by all of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Ryan Companies US Inc. is a nationally recognized developer, design-builder and real estate manager. In addition to its Minneapolis office, the company has offices in Chicago, Phoenix, San Diego, Tampa, Cedar Rapids, Davenport and Des Moines, Iowa. Ryan was named the 2007 National Developer of the Year by the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP).