Roberta Pisani Ryan died April 5 in Newton, Massachusetts where she had been living for the last few years to be near her daughters who are residents there.
Born Dec. 18, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York to Robert A. Pisani and Cornelia Mae Beringer Morris, she was the oldest of six siblings, including Susan, Johnny, Jimmy, Jane and Richard. As a teenager, she moved to Lincroft and graduated from Middletown High School. While working at Bell Labs she met the love of her life, Jim Ryan, and they were married in 1964. They moved to Little Silver in 1970 where they happily raised their three children.
For nearly 50 years Roberta spent her summers at Monmouth Beach Bath & Tennis Club where she enjoyed the club’s activities and met many of her most dear friends. Other experiences that she cherished deeply were vacations with Jim and friends to Europe and the Caribbean and weekly trips into Manhattan to shop at the D&D, see a play, or have dinner with Jim.
Roberta was an original Tastemaker. She was an avid collector, knew a treasure when she came across one, and her generous nature took special pleasure in finding interesting gifts for loved ones. She had an exceptional sense of humor and her laugh will never be forgotten.
She was predeceased by her husband James Joseph Ryan Jr. (2001), and will be greatly missed by her surviving family, James Joseph Ryan III, his wife Katherine and their children Lilah and Tate; Elizabeth Ryan Benedict, her husband Coleman and their children Coleman, Emerson, Finley and Tucker; Kimberly Ryan Johnston, her husband Gavin and her children Carter, Wyatt and Andrew. She loved her children and grandchildren dearly and she was equally loved by her family.
Due to the complications around the current COVID-19 pandemic, a private funeral ser vice will be held at Mt. Olivet Cemetery and a Celebration of Life service will take place at a later date. Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local hospitals and pray for coronavirus victims throughout the world.
This article originally appeared in the April 9th, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
