In the wake of Melanie Ryan’s June 7 passing culminating a
two-year battle with breast cancer, a trio of sweet reminders
embody the essence of who she was in life.
In the wake of Melanie Ryan’s June 7 passing culminating a two-year battle with breast cancer, a trio of sweet reminders embody the essence of who she was in life.
“They’ve kept me from going completely insane,” said Jeff Ryan of his two daughters. He nodded in the direction of the living room, where Maile, 6, and Maddi, 5 watched “Alice in Wonderland” Tuesday afternoon inside the Ryan’s home on Gold Finch Court in Gilroy.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputy described his children as “beautiful copies of their mother,” which means they also inherited Melanie’s “super strong will – which I find to be very trying,” he joked.
True to form, Maddi tried – and tried again – before taking a temporary hiatus from polite requests of, “Dad, can I have some cake now?”
In addition to his pair of “little knuckleheads,” a visual tribute outside Jeff’s house pays homage to the memory of his late wife, a woman he remarked “had a drive like no one I’ve ever seen before.”
Facing a glass sliding door that framed the view of his newly landscaped back yard, the
31-year-old father admitted seeing his spouse’s vision completed is both awesome and bittersweet.
“It’s nice to sit back, look out and see this is what she wanted,” he said, indicating to an immaculate garden and play area erected in single day by a surprise turnout of roughly 40 volunteers from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and City of Santa Clara Fire Department.
While Melanie had plans to erect an organic garden in a back yard her husband deemed “the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen,” time ran out when the 29-year-old Santa Clara County dispatcher succumbed to cancer before her goal came to fruition.
Though her condition improved by the end of 2009 after a double mastectomy, she relapsed in May 2010 when doctors discovered tumors up and down her spine.
At one point Jeff said he considered jump-starting the garden himself and getting it done sooner than later, but felt asking for help would have been synonymous with “accepting defeat.” He and Melanie wanted to continue life like they normally have, he explained, which meant beautifying the back yard together at their leisure.
“To me, asking for that much help would have been like time was running out,” Jeff explained as he sat in the living room near a foyer brightened with wreaths and floral arrangements. The family cat was purring in is lap. “I think doing it like that would have been losing hope or giving up.”
When Melanie passed away, Jeff said he resolved to finish what his wife had been talking about for the past two years and placed a call June 10 to his
co-workers at the SCC Sheriff’s Office in San Martin. He inquired if anyone would be interested in sprucing up the garden in time for a reception at his house following Melanie’s June 18 funeral services.
Strolling past two raised flower beds corralled by thick wood frames, Jeff highlighted response from about 40 personnel of the SCC Sheriff’s office and City of Santa Clara Fire Department the following day as “awe-inspiring.” The project was facilitated by Melanie’s father Kevin Ryan, a Santa Clara Fire Department captain.
“You hear about cops and firefighters being one big family who have each other’s backs – but I never thought about it outside of work,” said Jeff. “It was very comforting.”
When his sister-in-law, Cecily Ryan, turned the corner on her way to the Ryan’s home located in a quiet neighborhood not far from Day Road, she began crying at the sight of trucks and cars lining the street, Jeff said.
“She was so moved by the amount of people that showed up on such a short notice to do this for our daughters and her sister.”
Volunteers accomplished a lot that day, digging seven inches into the ground to create a solid surface for his daughters’ play structure. It’s now firmly rooted in a spongy foundation of mulch.
Pointing to the dozen cherry, apple, plum and apricot trees forming a leafy backdrop behind rows of zucchini, cucumber, marigolds, tomato and strawberry plants, Jeff observed this is what his wife would have loved, “and I’m happy for it.”
He added, “now if I can just learn how to garden.”
The two met 10 years ago during a fire science class at Mission College in Santa Clara, on a day the striking blonde – then 20 – caught Jeff’s eye when she came strolling into class late.
“The teacher said something to her, and she fired back at him with a smart remark,” he laughed.
From that point on, he was smitten.
“I fell in love with her the first day I saw her.”
The couple highlights the catalyst of their relationship as a “smelly guy” who came from gym class prior and sat right next to Melanie.
Underscore it as fate or the power of compelling body odor, Melanie was compelled to shuffle seats – a move that landed her alongside her future husband. The two dated for a year and a half before getting engaged, married nine moths later and moved Dec. 31, 2008 to Gilroy.
Sitting kitty corner from a piano lined with portraits of their wedding day and snapshots of their daughters in matching outfits, Jeff said his wife had brown eyes.
He wears her engagement ring around his neck on a silver chain, a prismatic spark beneath Jeff’s shirt collar that intermittently catches the eye.
“She was always one step ahead and had a big picture of what she wanted to do,” he said, lauding Melanie’s meticulous character and personal drive. “You only had to talk to her for a few minutes before she left a lasting impression on you. She’s where I drew a lot of my strength.”
