Fund in Memory of Ryan Weidler

In the all-too-short twenty-six years of Ryan’s life, he developed an impressive work ethic and consequently achieved much recognition. He was a gifted athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball throughout high school. He excelled most in basketball, which he continued on the varsity level during his four years at Dickinson College. He was a disciplined player and a selfless team member. But his favorite social sport was, in fact, golf, which he played regularly with family. His summer job of caddying gave him an appreciation for the game and enhanced his skills. Thus, he would have loved the tournament: an opportunity to challenge himself competitively, but also a time to laugh and have fun.

Further, Ryan would have loved the opportunity to share time with friends and, particularly, family. It was Ryan’s grandfather who first introduced him to golf as an adolescent, and that was only one of the many special traditions that shaped Ryan’s life. He was devoted to his family as he was to his fiancée whom he had planned to marry six months after his untimely death, and he regularly and thoroughly enjoyed time spent with those he loved.

Further, Ryan would have loved the opportunity to share time with friends and, particularly, family. It was Ryan’s grandfather who first introduced him to golf as an adolescent, and that was only one of the many special traditions that shaped Ryan’s life. He was devoted to his family as he was to his fiancée whom he had planned to marry six months after his untimely death, and he regularly and thoroughly enjoyed time spent with those he loved.

Finally, Ryan’s habit of self-sacrifice would have been exercised had he been present for this tournament. (Indeed, his sister and cousins fondly nick-named him “Marty” for his acts of selflessness or “martyrdom”!) Ryan felt a personal obligation to “give back”, and he would have loved the thought of helping others through donating his personal time and talent. Even though he was, at the time of his death, still a young man climbing the business ladder, he realized the importance of contributing to causes greater than himself, and he practiced this belief.

On February 26, 2005, suddenly and without any warning Ryan died in his sleep. He had been a healthy and happy young man on the thresh-hold of an exciting and rewarding life. Without any concrete clues to explain his death, doctors surmised that an undiagnosed, unsuspected heart arrhythmia was most likely the culprit. No family history linked him to this condition; no signs of the condition have since appeared in family testing.