Son of Arthur Larned Ryerson and Emily Maria Borie, aged 87 years.
John B. "Jack" Ryerson was a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, along with his mother, two sisters and two family servants. His father, Arthur Ryerson, a prominent Chicago attorney and scion of the Ryerson steel fortune, was among the 1,500 people who perished in the disaster.
Jack Ryerson was a graduate of Yale University. He held a brief banking position in Chicago in the 1920s before turning most of his attention to golf.
In 1930, he bought the Otsego Golf Club in Cooperstown, New York - his family summer home. During his golf career, he played with such greats as Bobby Jones, Julius Boros, Gene Littler and Babe Zaharias.
A winter resident of Palm Beach, he married late in life to Jane Morris in 1951. The couple would have no children.
With the gradual resurgence of interest in the Titanic during the 1950s, "Jack" Ryerson and his sister, Emily (Ryerson) Cooke, were invited guests of 20th Century Fox to the film set of the 1953 movie TITANIC with starred Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. While on set, the Ryerson siblings related their tales of the Titanic to the cast, including actress Audrey Dalton, who was photographed with them as she toured the set.
On the heels of the 1953 film, Jack Ryerson assisted author Walter Lord with his work for his novel, A Night to Remember (1955). Ryerson and other survivors were assets to Lord's research.
Jack Ryerson's main interest, however, was golf. He was a championship golfer and was reported to have played on more than 1,015 different courses by 1954. His accomplishment was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not. He eventually increased that number to over 1,400 courses by the end of his life.
While he loved to speak about golf and his career, he became more tight lipped when the subject of the Titanic came up in later years. By the 1980s, Ryerson was diagnosed with early stages of dementia. In a friendship he shared with a young teenager starting in 1983, he related some personal details of the Titanic. Ryerson recalled how one of the Titanic's officers called out that he couldn't enter one of the last lifeboats into which his mother, sisters and two female servants were boarding. Being 13-years-old, the officer felt Ryerson was old enough to remain behind with the men in accordance with the "Women and children only" rule. Arthur Ryerson immediately stepped forward and argued the point his son was only 13 and should be permitted to join his mother in the boat. The officer relented. Throughout his whole life, Jack Ryerson never forgot his valiant father with whom he attributed with saving his life. Jack last saw his father standing with friends as their lifeboat pulled away looking very calm. He also recalled that while he heard the band playing, he did not hear the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee." Once out on the ocean, Jack Ryerson related how he saw the Titanic going down but believed the ship wouldn't actually sink. He said many in the boat felt the same way and that it seemed impossible that the Titanic would go down. The horror of the situation became more evident when several swimmers were pulled into Jack's lifeboat nearly frozen. Ryerson remembered how a few of them died after being pulled aboard. He related that he had never seen a dead man before that close so it was a revelation of things to come. Minutes later, he remembered keeping his eyes fixated on the sinking Titanic, and only when the luxury liner did sink, did he fully believe the reality of the situation. Jack also recalled how cold the water was. As an inquisitive youngster, he had the urge to reach out and touch the water which he never forgot the intense cold. Only when he and his family reached the safety of the rescue ship did Jack realize that his father was lost.
Ryerson gave infrequent interviews through the years but personally did not like the press or their reporting techniques. One on one, he was more willing to discuss his past in the relaxation of his living room.
By 1985, Alzheimer's disease had claimed almost all of Ryerson's cognition. He was admitted to the Noreen McKeen nursing facility in Palm Beach. The Titanic was finally discovered on September 1, 1985, but Jack Ryerson was in the final throes of the dreaded disease without ever fully grasping the headline news. Just four months after the Titanic's discovery was broadcast to the world, Jack Ryerson succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's on January 21, 1986. His wife Jane later said, "he was eating his lunch and then simply closed his eyes and stopped breathing. It was very peaceful." Jack Ryerson was 87-years-old. Aside from being one of the last remaining Titanic survivors, he was the last surviving member of his family who had been aboard the great ship.
Jack Ryerson's body was returned to Cooperstown, New York where he was interred with his family in the Ryerson family plot at Lakewood Cemetery. Jack's wife, Jane (Morris) Ryerson, died four years later and was buried beside him.
John B. "Jack" Ryerson was a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, along with his mother, two sisters and two family servants. His father, Arthur Ryerson, a prominent Chicago attorney and scion of the Ryerson steel fortune, was among the 1,500 people who perished in the disaster.
Jack Ryerson was a graduate of Yale University. He held a brief banking position in Chicago in the 1920s before turning most of his attention to golf.
In 1930, he bought the Otsego Golf Club in Cooperstown, New York - his family summer home. During his golf career, he played with such greats as Bobby Jones, Julius Boros, Gene Littler and Babe Zaharias.
A winter resident of Palm Beach, he married late in life to Jane Morris in 1951. The couple would have no children.
With the gradual resurgence of interest in the Titanic during the 1950s, "Jack" Ryerson and his sister, Emily (Ryerson) Cooke, were invited guests of 20th Century Fox to the film set of the 1953 movie TITANIC with starred Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. While on set, the Ryerson siblings related their tales of the Titanic to the cast, including actress Audrey Dalton, who was photographed with them as she toured the set.
On the heels of the 1953 film, Jack Ryerson assisted author Walter Lord with his work for his novel, A Night to Remember (1955). Ryerson and other survivors were assets to Lord's research.
Jack Ryerson's main interest, however, was golf. He was a championship golfer and was reported to have played on more than 1,015 different courses by 1954. His accomplishment was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not. He eventually increased that number to over 1,400 courses by the end of his life.
While he loved to speak about golf and his career, he became more tight lipped when the subject of the Titanic came up in later years. By the 1980s, Ryerson was diagnosed with early stages of dementia. In a friendship he shared with a young teenager starting in 1983, he related some personal details of the Titanic. Ryerson recalled how one of the Titanic's officers called out that he couldn't enter one of the last lifeboats into which his mother, sisters and two female servants were boarding. Being 13-years-old, the officer felt Ryerson was old enough to remain behind with the men in accordance with the "Women and children only" rule. Arthur Ryerson immediately stepped forward and argued the point his son was only 13 and should be permitted to join his mother in the boat. The officer relented. Throughout his whole life, Jack Ryerson never forgot his valiant father with whom he attributed with saving his life. Jack last saw his father standing with friends as their lifeboat pulled away looking very calm. He also recalled that while he heard the band playing, he did not hear the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee." Once out on the ocean, Jack Ryerson related how he saw the Titanic going down but believed the ship wouldn't actually sink. He said many in the boat felt the same way and that it seemed impossible that the Titanic would go down. The horror of the situation became more evident when several swimmers were pulled into Jack's lifeboat nearly frozen. Ryerson remembered how a few of them died after being pulled aboard. He related that he had never seen a dead man before that close so it was a revelation of things to come. Minutes later, he remembered keeping his eyes fixated on the sinking Titanic, and only when the luxury liner did sink, did he fully believe the reality of the situation. Jack also recalled how cold the water was. As an inquisitive youngster, he had the urge to reach out and touch the water which he never forgot the intense cold. Only when he and his family reached the safety of the rescue ship did Jack realize that his father was lost.
Ryerson gave infrequent interviews through the years but personally did not like the press or their reporting techniques. One on one, he was more willing to discuss his past in the relaxation of his living room.
By 1985, Alzheimer's disease had claimed almost all of Ryerson's cognition. He was admitted to the Noreen McKeen nursing facility in Palm Beach. The Titanic was finally discovered on September 1, 1985, but Jack Ryerson was in the final throes of the dreaded disease without ever fully grasping the headline news. Just four months after the Titanic's discovery was broadcast to the world, Jack Ryerson succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's on January 21, 1986. His wife Jane later said, "he was eating his lunch and then simply closed his eyes and stopped breathing. It was very peaceful." Jack Ryerson was 87-years-old. Aside from being one of the last remaining Titanic survivors, he was the last surviving member of his family who had been aboard the great ship.
Jack Ryerson's body was returned to Cooperstown, New York where he was interred with his family in the Ryerson family plot at Lakewood Cemetery. Jack's wife, Jane (Morris) Ryerson, died four years later and was buried beside him.
Son of Arthur Larned Ryerson and Emily Maria Borie, aged 87 years.
John B. "Jack" Ryerson was a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, along with his mother, two sisters and two family servants. His father, Arthur Ryerson, a prominent Chicago attorney and scion of the Ryerson steel fortune, was among the 1,500 people who perished in the disaster.
Jack Ryerson was a graduate of Yale University. He held a brief banking position in Chicago in the 1920s before turning most of his attention to golf.
In 1930, he bought the Otsego Golf Club in Cooperstown, New York - his family summer home. During his golf career, he played with such greats as Bobby Jones, Julius Boros, Gene Littler and Babe Zaharias.
A winter resident of Palm Beach, he married late in life to Jane Morris in 1951. The couple would have no children.
With the gradual resurgence of interest in the Titanic during the 1950s, "Jack" Ryerson and his sister, Emily (Ryerson) Cooke, were invited guests of 20th Century Fox to the film set of the 1953 movie TITANIC with starred Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. While on set, the Ryerson siblings related their tales of the Titanic to the cast, including actress Audrey Dalton, who was photographed with them as she toured the set.
On the heels of the 1953 film, Jack Ryerson assisted author Walter Lord with his work for his novel, A Night to Remember (1955). Ryerson and other survivors were assets to Lord's research.
Jack Ryerson's main interest, however, was golf. He was a championship golfer and was reported to have played on more than 1,015 different courses by 1954. His accomplishment was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not. He eventually increased that number to over 1,400 courses by the end of his life.
While he loved to speak about golf and his career, he became more tight lipped when the subject of the Titanic came up in later years. By the 1980s, Ryerson was diagnosed with early stages of dementia. In a friendship he shared with a young teenager starting in 1983, he related some personal details of the Titanic. Ryerson recalled how one of the Titanic's officers called out that he couldn't enter one of the last lifeboats into which his mother, sisters and two female servants were boarding. Being 13-years-old, the officer felt Ryerson was old enough to remain behind with the men in accordance with the "Women and children only" rule. Arthur Ryerson immediately stepped forward and argued the point his son was only 13 and should be permitted to join his mother in the boat. The officer relented. Throughout his whole life, Jack Ryerson never forgot his valiant father with whom he attributed with saving his life. Jack last saw his father standing with friends as their lifeboat pulled away looking very calm. He also recalled that while he heard the band playing, he did not hear the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee." Once out on the ocean, Jack Ryerson related how he saw the Titanic going down but believed the ship wouldn't actually sink. He said many in the boat felt the same way and that it seemed impossible that the Titanic would go down. The horror of the situation became more evident when several swimmers were pulled into Jack's lifeboat nearly frozen. Ryerson remembered how a few of them died after being pulled aboard. He related that he had never seen a dead man before that close so it was a revelation of things to come. Minutes later, he remembered keeping his eyes fixated on the sinking Titanic, and only when the luxury liner did sink, did he fully believe the reality of the situation. Jack also recalled how cold the water was. As an inquisitive youngster, he had the urge to reach out and touch the water which he never forgot the intense cold. Only when he and his family reached the safety of the rescue ship did Jack realize that his father was lost.
Ryerson gave infrequent interviews through the years but personally did not like the press or their reporting techniques. One on one, he was more willing to discuss his past in the relaxation of his living room.
By 1985, Alzheimer's disease had claimed almost all of Ryerson's cognition. He was admitted to the Noreen McKeen nursing facility in Palm Beach. The Titanic was finally discovered on September 1, 1985, but Jack Ryerson was in the final throes of the dreaded disease without ever fully grasping the headline news. Just four months after the Titanic's discovery was broadcast to the world, Jack Ryerson succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's on January 21, 1986. His wife Jane later said, "he was eating his lunch and then simply closed his eyes and stopped breathing. It was very peaceful." Jack Ryerson was 87-years-old. Aside from being one of the last remaining Titanic survivors, he was the last surviving member of his family who had been aboard the great ship.
Jack Ryerson's body was returned to Cooperstown, New York where he was interred with his family in the Ryerson family plot at Lakewood Cemetery. Jack's wife, Jane (Morris) Ryerson, died four years later and was buried beside him.
John B. "Jack" Ryerson was a survivor of the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, along with his mother, two sisters and two family servants. His father, Arthur Ryerson, a prominent Chicago attorney and scion of the Ryerson steel fortune, was among the 1,500 people who perished in the disaster.
Jack Ryerson was a graduate of Yale University. He held a brief banking position in Chicago in the 1920s before turning most of his attention to golf.
In 1930, he bought the Otsego Golf Club in Cooperstown, New York - his family summer home. During his golf career, he played with such greats as Bobby Jones, Julius Boros, Gene Littler and Babe Zaharias.
A winter resident of Palm Beach, he married late in life to Jane Morris in 1951. The couple would have no children.
With the gradual resurgence of interest in the Titanic during the 1950s, "Jack" Ryerson and his sister, Emily (Ryerson) Cooke, were invited guests of 20th Century Fox to the film set of the 1953 movie TITANIC with starred Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. While on set, the Ryerson siblings related their tales of the Titanic to the cast, including actress Audrey Dalton, who was photographed with them as she toured the set.
On the heels of the 1953 film, Jack Ryerson assisted author Walter Lord with his work for his novel, A Night to Remember (1955). Ryerson and other survivors were assets to Lord's research.
Jack Ryerson's main interest, however, was golf. He was a championship golfer and was reported to have played on more than 1,015 different courses by 1954. His accomplishment was featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not. He eventually increased that number to over 1,400 courses by the end of his life.
While he loved to speak about golf and his career, he became more tight lipped when the subject of the Titanic came up in later years. By the 1980s, Ryerson was diagnosed with early stages of dementia. In a friendship he shared with a young teenager starting in 1983, he related some personal details of the Titanic. Ryerson recalled how one of the Titanic's officers called out that he couldn't enter one of the last lifeboats into which his mother, sisters and two female servants were boarding. Being 13-years-old, the officer felt Ryerson was old enough to remain behind with the men in accordance with the "Women and children only" rule. Arthur Ryerson immediately stepped forward and argued the point his son was only 13 and should be permitted to join his mother in the boat. The officer relented. Throughout his whole life, Jack Ryerson never forgot his valiant father with whom he attributed with saving his life. Jack last saw his father standing with friends as their lifeboat pulled away looking very calm. He also recalled that while he heard the band playing, he did not hear the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee." Once out on the ocean, Jack Ryerson related how he saw the Titanic going down but believed the ship wouldn't actually sink. He said many in the boat felt the same way and that it seemed impossible that the Titanic would go down. The horror of the situation became more evident when several swimmers were pulled into Jack's lifeboat nearly frozen. Ryerson remembered how a few of them died after being pulled aboard. He related that he had never seen a dead man before that close so it was a revelation of things to come. Minutes later, he remembered keeping his eyes fixated on the sinking Titanic, and only when the luxury liner did sink, did he fully believe the reality of the situation. Jack also recalled how cold the water was. As an inquisitive youngster, he had the urge to reach out and touch the water which he never forgot the intense cold. Only when he and his family reached the safety of the rescue ship did Jack realize that his father was lost.
Ryerson gave infrequent interviews through the years but personally did not like the press or their reporting techniques. One on one, he was more willing to discuss his past in the relaxation of his living room.
By 1985, Alzheimer's disease had claimed almost all of Ryerson's cognition. He was admitted to the Noreen McKeen nursing facility in Palm Beach. The Titanic was finally discovered on September 1, 1985, but Jack Ryerson was in the final throes of the dreaded disease without ever fully grasping the headline news. Just four months after the Titanic's discovery was broadcast to the world, Jack Ryerson succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer's on January 21, 1986. His wife Jane later said, "he was eating his lunch and then simply closed his eyes and stopped breathing. It was very peaceful." Jack Ryerson was 87-years-old. Aside from being one of the last remaining Titanic survivors, he was the last surviving member of his family who had been aboard the great ship.
Jack Ryerson's body was returned to Cooperstown, New York where he was interred with his family in the Ryerson family plot at Lakewood Cemetery. Jack's wife, Jane (Morris) Ryerson, died four years later and was buried beside him.
Inscription
JOHN B RYERSON
DECEMBER 16 1898
JANRUARY 21 1986
WIFE
JANE M RYERSON
FEBRUARY 16 1909
MARCH 15 1990
Family Members
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