Obituaries

Glendora Community 'Fixture' Dead at 64

Popular Glendora resident Mark Ryan passed away Monday of natural causes.

If you lived in Glendora for awhile, you probably crossed paths with Mark Ryan at least once.

Ryan, 64, was known by many as a well-loved and long time resident of Glendora. Ryan was called a fixture in the community, riding his bicycle around town, popping in to local businesses and getting to know nearly every person he met.

But the man community members called “Mark of the Park” for his constant presence in the Glendora community died Monday of natural causes in his home.

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“Glendora is all he knew,” said Fritz Mensing, owner of . “Mark never got to drive, he had no family of his own. This community was his family.”

Mensing said he was close to Ryan for years and said Ryan, who was mentally disabled, enjoyed helping out local businesses with small chores.

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“He’d do some sweeping, run some errands for us,” said Mensing. “Everyone loved him.”

Ryan was born in Sioux City, Iowa on Oct. 9, 1947. His family moved to Glendora in 1965, a place Ryan called home ever since.

As community members heard news of Ryan’s passing, friends flooded Facebook with messages of condolences and memories of Ryan. On Glendora’s Fallen, a page dedicated to deceased Glendora residents, members reminisced on Ryan’s outgoing friendliness and his love for the Glendora community.

One woman commented how she returned to Glendora after being gone for 15 years. She said Ryan still recognized and knew her even after all the years.

Others recalled how Ryan enjoyed engaging people in conversation about his favorite topics, including hot rods, tractors, construction and his nieces he loved to dote on.

“People who knew Mark always felt like he was part of the family,” said Ryan’s former neighbor Shelli Templeton. 

Several times Ryan’s bicycle was stolen and each time, friends chipped in to purchase Ryan a new bike.

“He was a gentle soul, someone who truly brought the best out of people,” said Templeton.

Ryan is survived by his brother, Rick Ryan of Valencia, CA; two sisters Geri Monroe of Upland, CA and Janine Drummond of Rancho Cucamonga, CA; and four nieces Erin and Ally Monroe of Beckinridge, CO and Dana and Kristen Drummond of Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

Funeral services for Ryan will be 7 p.m. Monday, May 14 at . A funeral mass will be 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 15 at St. Dorothy’s Church, followed by a burial service at .


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