Read Terry A Ryser's Obituary & Leave Condolences

In memory of

Terry A Ryser

Naperville, IL, USA

December 29, 1940 - April 16, 2021

Dec 29, 1940 - Apr 16, 2021

Help keep everyone in the know by sharing this memorial website.

Share

Photo

Terry Ryser

Dec. 29, 1940 – April 16, 2021

Terry Ryser, whose passion for the national pastime defined his youth as a college baseball prospect, his midlife as a high school coach and his retirement as an ambassador of the game he loved, died at his Naperville home with his wife by his side on April 16, 2021, after an 11-year battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

He was 80.

In his final days, unable to steal bases, mow the lawn, or do chin-ups on the back of the bathroom door, he was surrounded by family – including his four children – and by friends, including those on the senior-league baseball team he played with throughout his 70s.

In the end, he was able to tell his children that dying was “not as bad as I thought it would be,” because he had stopped fighting what he could not defeat. “It feels like a relief,” he said. “Now I just thank God for all the things in my life.”

Those things included the compassion of his wife, Carmelita, the kindness of his caretaker Moises, the support of his children, and a symphony of memories about his childhood in southern Indiana and the life he built in the western suburbs of Chicago, about which he said in his final days, “I have no regrets.”

He was born Terry Armin Ryser on Dec. 29, 1940, in Bloomington, Indiana, to Nellie and Otto Ryser. The second of five children, he wore his little league baseball uniform even on days when he didn’t have a game, and he so relished his family that he endeavored to replicate that close-knit spirit with the four children he raised with his first wife, Roberta, in Maywood and Oak Park, Illinois.

One of the hardest decisions of his life came in 1963, when he was the second baseman for Indiana University, and he attended the same training camp where a young Pete Rose was trying to impress the scouts. Terry Ryser was offered a minor league contract with the Pittsburg Pirates.

There are different reasons that have been given over the years why Terry Ryser chose a family life with Roberta over a shot at his life-long dream of playing in the major leagues. One of his own reasons, which he shared with his son during a visit to Cooperstown late in his life was that he doubted he could hit major league pitching.

Becoming a family man did not end his love affair with baseball. It some ways, his passion for the game grew stronger as his children strived to make their own lives, just west of Chicago. His devotion to coaching and his dedication to all details of the game began to shine – from his strict but effective ethic to his immaculately landscaped infield to the uniforms he had custom designed for his players. The baseball program he built during his 20-year career teaching physical education at Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was his crowning achievement.

The mid-1970s were his glory years. His hero, Pete Rose, and the Big Red Machine had won back-to-back World Series titles, and he coached the 1976-1977 Proviso East High School baseball team to the state championship. The victory earned him induction into the high school’s Hall of Fame in 2014. A high school newsletter noted at the time, “Coach Ryser was known for maintaining one of the best infields, not only in the in the state of Illinois, but in the country.”

Off the baseball field, he learned through his children how to relate to the world outside of baseball. He enjoyed family reunions in Bloomington, family vacations in Florida, and frequent weekend outings with his kids to museums, ball parks, beaches and zoos.

Much of his retirement was spent investing in the Italianate villas he lived in first in Aurora with his second wife, Cleo, and then in Naperville with his wife, Carmelita – homes which were not only the conversation pieces of the neighborhood but which also were the subject of newspaper features. He loved being a grandfather of 16, and made it a point to call each grandchild on their birthdays. Those were the years he would say, “Every morning I wake up with a smile on my face.”

And yet with his life surrounded by family, there was still that boy inside him who longed to play baseball, as his friends in the Roy Hobbs adult league can attest. Even into his 70s, he took pride in reporting to his children, “Today I went two-for-four with a stolen base.”

He kept faithful to that playful spirit until his death.

In addition to Roberta, Cleo and Carmelita, he is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Barry and Jan Ryser; two sons and their wives, Rob and Helen Ryser, and Rich and Candy Ryser; two daughters and their husbands, Rachelle and Rich Sagen, and Raina and Chris Johnson; 16 grandchildren; and one great-grandson. His parents, Otto and Nellie Ryser; two brothers, Larry and Gary Ryser; and a sister, Beth Workman, died earlier.

Arrangements were private by his request.

Order a beautiful PDF you can print and save or share.

Get the PDF

Get notified when new photos, stories and other important updates are shared.