News | 4/9/08

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Patrick Smith [Click to enlarge]

The last time Charlie Ryan saw his son, Kevin, he was dropping him off outside of the Residence Tower last semester.

Charlie says Kevin came home that weekend for the local high school's homecoming.

They exchanged the "typical give me a hug, don't do it in public" goodbye parents often share with their children.

About a week later, Charlie received a phone call at 3 a.m., informing him that his son was the victim of a hit and run accident.

Now, six months after the death of Towson freshman Kevin Ryan, his parents have set up a scholarship in his name at Towson University. A golf tournament fund-raiser next month will support the scholarship.

Kevin's father and his uncle Jamie Ryan said the preparation for the tournament has brought the family closer during this difficult time.

"We were already tight-knit, but we have become much closer, if that's possible," Jamie said. "With this golf outing, we talk to each other more. We didn't talk every single day. Now we do, practically five times a day…That's a positive thing that has happened to our family."

Charlie and Jamie are the second and seventh children respectively of eight siblings, each of whom has a different task in putting together the tournament.

"We all help each other out. We all lean on each other at different times. The strength of the family really helps the whole process of healing," Jamie said.

In October, just days before Towson's Homecoming festivities, Kevin was walking home at night from a friend's house when an alleged drunken driver struck him, sending him into the path of another moving vehicle.

Matthew Miller, 25, was charged with 20 offenses including leaving the scene of an accident and alcohol related citations. He has a sentencing hearing July 17.

In the meantime, the Ryan family is focused on getting the golf tournament underway. The tournament will take place May 28, at the University of Maryland Golf Course. Jamie and Charlie said they have more than 40 participants signed up to date, but want to reach the maximum number of allowable players, 144. The registration cost is $125 with all proceeds going to Kevin Ryan's Gift, a scholarship the Ryan family wants to have available next semester.

The Ryan family also takes solace in the fact that Kevin's organs were donated to several people in need of transplant surgery.

Recently, Charlie received a letter through the Living Legacy Foundation, informing him of the status of the individual who received Kevin's heart.

"The guy who got Kevin's heart is doing really well with the transplant. He has some similarities to Kevin. He's a teacher, he likes to camp, likes to fish and the beach, all things Kevin liked," Charlie said. "The heart is not just a valve that pumps blood. It's an emotional organ, too."

Kevin's death was also painful for his roommate, freshman accounting major Chris Boccio.

"The first phase was pure shock and disbelief. It just didn't seem real," Boccio said. "I mean I just talked to him a couple of days before the accident. After that I suffered a very depressive phase, where I could only be happy around the old poker buddies because we all felt the same way."

Kevin and Boccio became friends during their sophomore year at Atholton High School in Howard County.

"I just had to face the fact that he wouldn't be around anymore. Although I like to say I have moved on, there are still times that I will talk to him, out loud or in my head, and just tell him stuff that I normally wouldn't tell anyone else," Boccio said.

A finance major, Kevin wanted to start his own business according to his father. Charlie said he began noticing his son change before his eyes, from a boy to man.

Charlie remembered the times when they went camping together with the Scouts, and activities with church groups.

"I got lots of memories. I remember him from when he was a 9.9 pounds, big, huge baby to a big huge man-boy," Charlie said.

For more information about the scholarship, golf tournament or to post a message about Kevin Ryan, visit www.kevinryansgift.org.

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