Robert Raymond Ryder

Robert was born in Ossining, NY in 1936 to his mother, Leila, a registered nurse and his father, George, a telephone company employee. Two years later, the family was blessed with a second child, Edna. When Bob was eight years old, he and Edna began accordion lessons. Both became accomplished and appeared as a duo, quartet, and in concert bands at venues including Carnegie Hall, Manhattan Center in New York, and Philadelphia Town Hall. Bob’s love of music never left him. He served as a church organist at several churches including Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Woodland Hills until retiring from the bench at 78 years old.

Bob received a scholarship to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1957. Following college, Bob worked in the flight test division of Douglas Aircraft where he flew in a number of test programs.

It was during this time at Douglas that he met a beautiful German girl at a YMCA dance. This wonderful girl, Renate (Renee) and Bob were married in 1960 at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Santa Monica. In 1966 their first child Richard was born, followed two and a half years later by a brother, Ronald. Tragedy struck the family in 1977 when Richard was accidentally killed by a neighbor playing with a loaded gun. Ronald went on to graduate from CSUN, and gave Bob and Renee three grandchildren, Ron Alex, Justin and Grace and daughter-in-law Brigitte. In 2018 Bob became a great-grandfather to Logan, who brought him great joy.

Bob’s professional career brought him into the intelligence community and later into environmental sciences and allowed him to travel extensively worldwide. The family moved from California to Texas to Alabama and back to California where he stayed until his passing. In 1980 Bob completed the Executive MBA program at UCLA and went on to manage an electronics company and over 420 employees. In the mid-eighties, Bob and Renee began their own company in specialty real estate finance.

In 2004 Bob became Our Redeemer’s Business and Property Director until his retirement in 2015. He also served as congregational president, organist and adult class teacher.

Bob will rest in peace beside his son Richard at Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Cemetery in Westlake Village.