Christopher Noel Ryan was born in the former British colony of Jesselton, North Borneo (now known as Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia) in December 1958. He was the fifth among seven siblings, having three sisters and three brothers. His early education was in Sabah and later in Bangalore, India where he got his first degree. He eventually returned to Malaysia.
He taught mathematics for a few years at a private college in Kuala Lumpur before going to the US in 1988 to continue his studies focusing on computer science. After attaining his post-graduate degree, he worked in Illinois, Nevada, and California over the following decades as a computer engineer, achieving his goals with characteristic determination and hard work. Christopher loved living in California. He bought a house in Santa Cruz which became his home.
Christopher loved travel, meeting peole, adventure, sports, and outdoor activities. His absolute passion was running daily, which he did with much joy and determination in the beautiful area around his home in Santa Cruz. Forever challenging himself, he took pilot training and learned to fly, para-glide and scuba dive.
Family, friendship, honesty, and integrity were important things to him throughout his life. Christopher was thoughtful and generous and he went out of his way to help his family, friends, and strangers. He unceasingly supported the people of whom he knew they were in need, his student friends in Carbondale, his friends in the Bay Area and, of course, his family. Even in his last wishes he thought of being helpful to others.
In 2018-2019 Christopher discovered he was suffering from ALS and began utilizing the Care Services with ALS Network. With his typical curiosity about all things in life, he systematically researched the available science behind the disease. He pragmatically and methodically organized his life around this new reality, informing all of us about the diagnosis and making plans for the remaining years of his life.
Christopher was very much attached to the US which had become home to him; however, while he was still able to walk, he wished to pay a last visit to his hometown, Kota Kinabalu, and to spend time with his family there. With some trepidation and with great courage he set out from Santa Cruz in mid-2021. His condition deteriorated during this time, and he died in his hometown on 13 December 2022, three days before what would have been his 64th birthday. Christopher was true to himself and lived his life with courage and dignity right till the end. His legacy to us, his family, is one of compassion, kindness, empathy, and hard work.