Personal Details | |
Date of Birth | May 18, 1893 |
Place of Birth | Bromley, Osceola, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Marital Status | Single |
Next of Kin | Mrs Michael Ryan, mother |
Trade / Calling | Mill carriage man |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Service Details | |
Regimental Number | 2161258 |
Service Record | Link to Service Record |
Battalion | 130th Company, CFC |
Force | Canadian Expeditionary Force |
Branch | Canadian Forestry Corps |
Enlisted / Conscripted | Enlisted |
Address at Enlistment | Pembroke, Ontario |
Date of Enlistment | October 23, 1917 |
Age at Enlistment | 24 |
Theatre of Service | Europe |
Prisoner of War | No |
Survived War | Yes |
Death Details | |
Date of Death | April 29, 1952 |
Age at Death | 59 |
Buried At | Lake of the Woods Cemetery, Kenora, Ontario |
Plot | RC E - 38 - 20 |
Born on 18 May 1893 in Bromley, Osceola, Ontario, James Anthony (Jim) Ryan was the son of Michael and Bridget (née Gannon) Ryan, both of Irish descent. The family settled in the Renfrew area where they farmed. Jim was the eldest child in the family and had the following known siblings: Mary Frances, Michael L, Joseph Victor, Mary Irene, Mary Ethel, Mary Hortense, and Thomas.
Private James Anthony Ryan enlisted on 23 October 1917 in Brockville, Ontario, occupation given as mill carriage man. Joining the Railway Construction and Forestry Depot he embarked from Halifax, Nova Scotia on 27 November 1917 aboard the Metagama. With the Canadian Forestry Corps, District 55, 130th Company, Jim was promoted first to A/ Corporal and then to A/Sergeant at Stirling. Plagued with heart problems, he spent time in Kemnay, Scotland recuperating. With the war’s end, he embarked from Liverpool on 5 July 1919 aboard the Carmania.
After the war Jim moved to Kenora, Ontario, first working at the Keewatin Lumber Company. He married Eva Grace Perrault, daughter of Joseph and Exilda (née Favreau) Perrault on 24 January 1923 in Kenora. They lived in northwestern Ontario and latterly Kenora where he worked for the Ontario-Minnesota Pulp and Paper Company, eventually achieving the position of Woods Manager. They adopted a daughter Margaret in 1928 and gave birth to a son James (Jim) in 1934.
Jim died suddenly due to heart failure on 29 April 1952 at age 58. Over the course of his life he was active in community affairs. He was a member of the Rotary Club, charter member of the Knights of Columbus, a member of the Kenora Board of Trade, member of St Joseph’s Hospital Board, and was very active in the Notre Dame Church.
Along with his wife Eva, Jim is interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora. Eva had moved to Winnipeg after Jim’s death and died at St Boniface Hospital in 1976. Their daughter Margaret died in Toronto in 2007 and son Jim in 2012 in Penticton, BC.
by Judy Stockham