My dad, Alfred Michael Ryan, was born in Petone, near Wellington, on 24th January, 1921.He went to school at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Petone, then at St Patrick's College in Wellington.
During the 2nd World War, he was shipped to Samoa where he was a signalman for the army. He used morse code to send messages.
At the end of the war, he was posted to Fiji, where he met my mum, Joan. After they dated and fell in love, they got married in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Suva, Fiji, on 26th November, 1945.
After 6 years in Fiji, Dad brought Mum back to New Zealand. He continued to work for the General Post Office until 1976, and he and Mum brought up seven children together.After retiring from the General Post office, Dad worked for a number of years in the SIS, Special Investigation Service, and, when he retired from there, he began to play more golf. During his golfing years, which he loved, he scored 5 holes-in-one. He also served many years in the St Vincent de Paul Society, becoming the Chairperson for a number of years.
Dad had been a very fine cricketer and rugby player when he was young. On the evening that he died, he had been at the Petone Rugby Club to accept the honour of becoming Patron of the club. As he left the club, he had a sudden heart attack. Dad die
d on 10th December, in 2001.
