Rest In Peace Lovable Leo

It's a sad day in our neighborhood as our friend and neighbor Leo "Bud" Ryan passed away at 11:00 a.m. This past year he fought off cancer as long as he could. He was affectionately known to many as "Loveable Leo" as he was always smiling, happy and joking around with his neighbors, friends and family. My neighbor, Tom and good friend to Bud, called him the "Mayor of Rancho Caliente" (our street). A fitting office for him as he always was helping out and supervising our home improvement endeavors, meeting us with his side kick "Lucky" to chat at the end of his driveway during nightly dog walks and sharing his great love for cooking by dropping off lemon merigue pies and goodies every so often. His green thumb made his plants always grow greener and many of my starter plants came from his yard. We truly loved him and will miss his Irish eyes and good humor.

Bud didn't want any of us to see him on the decline --so I wrote him a note to make sure he knew that his job was to make sure we all had a place to move into when we move into his new neighborhood. Whenever I talk about my neighbors to others--they've always told me that having such a nice neighborhood is a rarity. So many people only see their neighbors as their garage doors close behind them. Bud certainly didn't shut us out and as a result we became good friends and our neighborhood became a nicer place.

Above are a few pictures from his 80th birthday party last December. I still have those pictures posted. Just click on the December 2005 archive link.

Much love and support to his wife Barbara, and daughter Joan. He was so proud of his family, loved his loyal dog Lucky and for 80 years he lived the good life and brought sunshine into all of those lucky enough to know him. Those memories will certainly be cherished.