Obituary: Marilyn Cyphers Ryan, 86, of Madison

Information via Guilford Funeral Home

Marilyn Cyphers Ryan of Madison passed away on February 1, 2016 after having been annoyed by several lengthy illnesses.

She was born on June 18, 1929 to F. Regis Cyphers and Inez Reiland Cyphers, and spent her childhood racing down the “slippy” brick streets of Pittsburgh on her red scooter. She was fearless, strong and athletic long before it was fashionable for girls to be so.

After winning many school awards, Marilyn worked as a secretary at the Gulf Oil Corporation in Pittsburgh, and then as a free-lance writer.

She was published in several national magazines, and wrote weekly columns, “Backyard Fence” and “The Beachcomber” for The New Haven Register.

Her poignant essays of everyday life touched people, and she always made her readers laugh, except when she made them cry. Marilyn had a way with words, and was known for using a nice turn of a phrase in many of her skits and poems.

She was cheerfully roped into editing many a newsletter. She loved playing Words With Friends, routinely playing 30 simultaneous games, and often requesting that her opponent use an unfamiliar word in a sentence.

A real talent was baking, and her offspring are grateful that she passed along some of her knowledge along with her recipes. Her string of Blue Ribbon and Best in Show wins began at the Guilford Fair in 1968.

She also won several ribbons at the Durham Fair. Her peach pie and tollhouse cookies were legendary, and her Hungarian Horn cookies were exquisite, although no one is quite sure how a Hungarian cookie came to be included in the recipes of her German family.

Marilyn enjoyed genealogy and delighted in making discoveries about her family. With her brother and nephew, she confirmed the family legend that they were related to Daniel Boone and to Julia Dent, wife of President Ulysses S. Grant. She was able to trace one line back to Charlemagne.

She came from a long line of strong women. Her greatest legacy may be the passing on of this characteristic to her children, who in turn raised their children to be strong in their convictions, strong in their work ethic, strong in their faith, and strong in their love for their family.

A communicant of St. Margaret Parish for more than 50 years, she was a member of the St. Margaret Ladies Guild. She was also a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Founding Families of Maryland.

Marilyn was predeceased by her devoted husband of almost 59 years, John J. Ryan, Jr., by her infant son, Kevin, and by her five siblings.

She is survived by her daughter, Susan Sylvester and her husband Richard of Simpsonville, SC and their children Richard, Michael and Katherine; son Timothy Ryan of Baltimore, MD and his children Michael, Christopher and Jennifer; daughter Lynn Ginter and her husband David of Clinton and their children David, Stephen and Kathleen; daughter Karen Green and her husband Timothy of Meriden and their children Sarah, Nicholas and Matthew; daughter Maureen LaBoa and her husband Anthony of Mason, OH and their children Kathleen and Jackson; and, son John J. Ryan, III and his wife Ellen of Westford, MA and their children John and Brendan. She is also survived by eight great-grandchildren.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in St. Margaret R.C. Church, 29 Academy St, Madison, CT on Friday Feb.5 at 10 am. Burial will follow Mass in St. Lawrence Cemetery, 280 Derby Ave, West Haven, CT.