Dr. Alden Billings Ryon of Winter Haven, passed away Friday, May 29, 2009 at home from prostate cancer. He was 82. Born in Harrisburg, PA September 13, 1926 and grew up in Asheville, NC. He began at the Citadel on his 17th. Birthday and joined the Naval Aviation Flight Training program five months later. During World War II, he was at Duke University and Carson-Newman College. He later served as a swimming instructor at Great Lakes Navel Training Center. While there he served with Paul Brown, who later became the first coach of the Cleveland Browns football team, and with Glenn Cunningham, who was the first person to run the four-minute mile. The fall of 1946 he returned to the Citadel where he completed his BS degree in chemistry in 1948. He worked on his Master’s degree in Nuclear Radiation Physics under Dr. George Schweitzer, who was one of the men who developed the atomic bomb at the Argonne Laboratory. Dr. Ryon started medical school at UNC, Chapel Hill NC in the fall of 1949. He transferred to the University of Cincinnati and received his Doctorate in medicine in 1953. Internship began at George Washington University, District of Columbia General Hospital in Washington D.C. He received a letter from the draft board informing him that because he had not served as a physician in the armed forces; he was subject to the draft. With that, he resigned his Naval commission and joined the US Air Force. He was sent to Flight Surgeon’s school and then to Craig A.F.B. in Selma, Alabama. His obstetrical nurse, Mrs. Lillian Brice introduced him to her daughter, Martha, a junior at Montevallo University. She was intelligent and beautiful! They were married a year later on September 4, 1955. His wife completed her degree in elementary education and he completed his second year of service in the Air Force. They moved to Miami, FL where he took a two-year residency in Pediatrics at the University of Miami. Their first son, Michael Douglass, was born in Miami on March 23, 1957 and they moved to Winter Haven, FL July 1958. During the next six years, four more sons were born: William Stephen on September 9, 1958, Randall Billings (born October 16, 1960), Richard Brice (born March 16, 1961), and John Alden (born October 16, 1963). Michael now lives in Naples, FL, William Stephen lives with his wife Stepanie in Sarasota, FL, Randall lives in Lake Wales, FL, Richard lives in West Palm Beach, FL, and John lives with his wife Jill in Atlanta, GA. They now have eight grandchildren: Celeste, Scott, Travis, Christine, Jamison, Ashley, Abigail and Lyndsie, and one great-grandchild: Dominic. Dr. Ryon also has two brothers: Dr. Eugene “Gene” Ryon, and Dr. Dale Ryon, both of Gainesville, FL. One of their sons, William Stephen “Steve” graduated from the Citadel in 1981. Dr. Ryon was in private pediatric practice in Winter Haven for 33 years during the “golden age” of medicine, and was affectionately known as the “bow tie doctor”. Following his first retirement, he then practiced pediatrics for four years at Bartow General Hospital, which was the last 100% charity hospital in the U.S. They have been very active in their church, Covenant Presbyterian Church, where he was a founding member. Dr. Ryon was Chairman of the Board of West Indies Christian Outreach, and spent several weeks for many years doing medical mission work in Jamaica. He also was a Charter Member of Lake Region Yacht and Country Club, and he was a Rotarian. They enjoyed retirement, spending time with children and grandchildren, and traveling a lot. Visitation will be Sunday from 4 until 6 PM at Oak Ridge Funeral Care in Winter Haven. Funeral services will be Monday, June 1, 2009, 1:00 PM at Covenant Presbyterian Church. Interment will be private for the family. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to: Mission to the World, P.O. 116284, Atlanta, GA 30368-6284. Condolences to the family can be made to: www.oakridgefuneralcare.com. Tags: 1948
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