On Thursday October 28, 2021 with her family by her side, Jean A. Ryan, long term resident of Wethersfield CT, and most recently of Rocky Hill, CT, wife of 39 years to her beloved husband, the late M. Vincent Ryan, passed away. She was born in South Orange, NJ and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. She is the daughter of the late Leo F. Feindt, Sr. and Violet M. Feindt. Jean attended Columbia High School, where she lettered in multiple sports and was President of the Art Club. Her love of sports was evident as a huge fan of her cherished New York Yankees, the UCONN Women's basketball team, and the Providence College Friars. She played a good game of golf, and she could punt a football across the yard for the neighborhood kids. She loved to swim, read, watch the Kentucky Derby, and loved all things turquoise. She once said turquoise is a color that looks good on everyone and is such a happy color, and she used it in most of her oil paintings. Jean was always a very creative and artistic person. She was accepted into Pratt Art Institute in NY, but because so many of our nation's heroes were returning from Korea, and GI's were given top priority, she had to wait a semester before attending. Always high energy, and not one to ever sit still, Jean changed course and decided to attend Virginia Intermont College where she majored in Medical Information and minored in art. When she graduated, she went to work in the Medical Records department at Orange Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. Jean later when on to earn an additional degree from Hillyer College (now University of Hartford) and did additional graduate work at Yale. She also earned both her Registered Record Librarian and Registered Record Administrator certifications.

An independent woman of strong principle, she was raised to be very proper but was also encouraged to follow her own path. Jean received a job offer from Hartford Hospital, and moved to Connecticut, where she permanently remained. Jean was Director of Medical Records and Health Information at Hartford Hospital for 39 years. It was at Hartford Hospital where she met the love of her life, and best friend, M. Vincent (Vinnie) Ryan at a bowling banquet for the hospital's bowling league. The rest was history. Jean and Vinnie lived in Wethersfield, CT for most of their married life, and that is where they raised their two children.

In the days where most mothers stayed at home, Jean maintained a very successful career and was internationally known in her field. She presented at both national and international conferences on medical coding and the importance of patient confidentiality. In the mid-1980's, Jean traveled to Japan and China for several months as part of an international friendship exchange. There, she taught the importance of documenting all medical conditions and diagnoses in medical records at large hospitals in Tokyo and Beijing as well as at rural hospitals in both countries. Her goal was to improve the level of documentation for improved future patient outcomes. While she was quite proud of her contributions, the project she was most proud of was as a key contributor to SNOMED 10 – which was a major overhaul to the international classification of diseases. She worked on that with her good friend and collaborator, the late Ronald Beckett, MD who she considered to be one of her greatest mentors.

While Jean's career was a big part of her life, everything she did was for her family. Born on December 6th (St Nicholas Day), Jean loved Christmas. She loved decorating, sending cards, and made Christmas Eve a huge celebration for the family. Every holiday was important to her. From the family Fourth of July party, to making amazing Halloween costumes which clearly showed her creativity, to celebrating our birthdays, she valued all special occasions. When Vinnie became sick, Jean retired to be his primary caregiver; she was incredibly dedicated to him until the day he passed. While she never got over Vinnie's loss, in efforts to keep herself busy, Jean took up art again and joined the Wethersfield Art League. She made very close friends in the league, and, because of her natural leadership skills, became the Co-President of the Art League for many years. In that time, Jean became a very prolific painter and won numerous awards for her paintings at jurored art shows and at local fairs. Jean continued to paint up until her vision started failing.

In her last years, Jean fought some long-term health issues but always sustained her will to make the most of everyday and carry on. She leaves behind her son Gregory L. Ryan of Newington, her daughter and son-in-law, Wendy and Michael Ashe of Berlin, CT and the special lights of her life her grandchildren Kerry Ashe of New York, NY, and Ryan Ashe of Providence, RI. In addition, Jean also leaves several generations of nieces and nephews (The Feindts, The McHenrys, The Fagans, and The Trombleys). She loved the letters and cards, and family get togethers she shared with them over the years. She was pre-deceased by her brother and sister-in-law Leo F. Feindt, Jr and his wife Aline, as well as her niece and God-daughter Katherine Feindt-Bailey. As a family, we were lucky to have had Jean as a major part of our lives. She was our role model and hero. She will always be loved and treasured in our hearts. The family would like to thank her care team at The Atrium at Rocky Hill for their part in caring for Jean over the past two years as well as her therapists, Camile and Jen, from Encompass. Special thanks to her PCP practice Jaques Mendelsohn, MD and Gail Lagana, APRN who were always on hand.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Wethersfield Art League, 193 Wells Road
Wethersfield, CT 06109 or the Connecticut Humane Society, https://give.cthumane.org/give/163286/#!/donation/checkout

Calling hours are Thursday, November 4, 2021 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Dillon-Baxter Funeral Home at 1276 Berlin Turnpike Wethersfield, CT 06109. A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:00 am on Friday November 5, 2021 at The Church of the Incarnation, 544 Prospect St, Wethersfield, CT 06109 followed by interment at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 453 Fairfield Ave, Hartford, CT 06114.