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Tryon— Patricia “Patsy” Tobin Ryan, 83 years young of Tryon, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on April 15th, 2024 with her beloved husband at her side.

 

Patsy was born in Galveston, Texas, on January 7, 1941 to Mylin and Elizabeth Tobin. As a child Patsy lived in Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Amarillo Texas before moving to San Mateo, California, and finally Charlotte, North Carolina, where she graduated from Myers Park High School.  Patsy attended Brenau College where she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.  She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1963.  After graduating, Patsy moved to Atlanta to begin her teaching career.

 

In 1965 Patsy met John Ryan on a blind date, while he was a student at Georgia Tech.  They married on June 18, 1966 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The two would go on to have two children, son Trey and daughter Erin.

 

Patsy was predeceased by her parents, Mylin and Elizabeth Tobin, and her sister, Beverly Hathaway. She is survived by the love of her life and husband of 57 years, John Ryan of Tryon, North Carolina, son Trey Ryan (Jenny) of Raleigh, North Carolina, daughter Erin Vaughn (Max) of Fort Mill, South Carolina, granddaughters, Peyton and Ryan Elizabeth and four nieces.

 

Pasty and John lived in many locations during their 57 years together and made life-long friends everywhere they went. Pasty taught Special Education while they lived in Beaumont, Texas, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Wilmington, Delaware, where they adopted Trey.  She took a break from teaching to raise Trey, and later Erin, who was adopted when Pasty and John moved to Houston. While there, she pursued two of her lifelong hobbies, antiquing and gardening. In Houston, she formed a partnership with three friends called “The What Nots” to buy and restore antiques. Some of the pieces acquired during that time still grace John and Patsy’s home today.

 

After moving to Charlotte, they lived near her parents and attended the same church where they had married many years before, Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.  It was in Charlotte that Patsy restarted her teaching career, specializing in reading and helping students from troubled families. She taught at Park Road Elementary and ended her career at Sterling Elementary.   She and her fellow teachers didn’t always see eye to eye with the administrators, and so they formed a group they called the Dog Pound, for not always going by the book when it came to caring for their students.

 

After retiring in 2005, she and John moved to their dream home in the mountains of North Carolina; it was here that Patsy was able to reach another milestone and become a certified Master Gardener, though friends and family had admired her gardens for many years.

 

A funeral Mass will be celebrated on April 27th at 11:00AM at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Tryon, North Carolina, with a reception to follow at the Tryon Country Club.

 

Online condolences may be left at www.pettyfuneralhome.com.

 

Petty Funeral Home & Crematory

Landrum, SC