Joseph P. Ryan, 61, law-firm founder

Joseph P. Ryan, 61, a lawyer, died of cancer Wednesday, July 4, at home in Broomall.

Raised in the Greenhill Farms section of Philadelphia, Mr. Ryan attended Waldron Academy, St. Joseph's Prep, and Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia.

After graduating from college, Mr. Ryan attended law school at Widener University at night while working two jobs - assistant to the Philadelphia city solicitor and bartender at Smokey Joe's, his father's tavern on the University of Pennsylvania campus.

After graduating from law school, Mr. Ryan joined the Center City law firm of Curran, Mylotte, David & Fitzpatrick. He also worked as in-house counsel for S&S Development in Haverford before forming the law firm of Ryan, Emory & Ryan in Paoli.

He was a longtime member of the Overbrook Golf Club in Bryn Mawr, and was especially proud watching his son Mac develop into a top junior golfer in the area. Every March, Mr. Ryan helped raise thousands of dollars for the Coaches vs. Cancer charity through the golf club's "Guest Bartender Night."

Mr. Ryan was a friend to all, said his wife of 18 years, Claire Marra Ryan.

"One friend noted of Joe that if you were with him and you were not having a good time, there was something wrong with you," Claire Ryan said.

Mr. Ryan relished organizing outings - his family said one of his brainstorming sessions led to the now-popular "Erin Express" buses that take revelers from Irish bar to Irish bar near St. Patrick's Day in and around Philadelphia.

After his father died in 1991, Mr. Ryan coordinated an annual fishing trip for his brothers and their sons that still continues.

He was proud of his family's Irish heritage and served as an ambassador between the Ryans of America and the Ryans of Galway, Ireland. He looked for every opportunity to go "back home" and often arranged Irish golf trips whose last stop was in Galway, where he would introduce traveling companions to his Irish cousins and attend the Galway Oyster Festival.

Last summer, Mr. Ryan made his final trip to Galway, where he was an honorary judge in the "Ladies' Bonnet" contest of the Galway Horse Races.

Mr. Ryan was a big fan of the St. Joseph's University basketball team, coached by his brother-in-law Phil Martelli. He and his family attended almost every home game.

In addition to his wife and sons Mac and Joseph Jr., Mr. Ryan is survived by his mother, Carol; brothers Paul, Pat, Jimmy, and Sean; sisters Maureen Fitzpatrick and Barbara Flynn; and a large extended family.

Friends are invited to call Monday, July 9, from 4 to 8 p.m. or Tuesday, July 10, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at Danjolell Memorial Home of Broomall, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Anastasia Church, 3301 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made to Coaches vs. Cancer, c/o Phil Martelli, 5600 City Ave., Philadelphia 19131.