Ryan James Michalski

Ryan James Michalski, just 20 years old, returned to the Lord on May 25th, 2021. A particularly accomplished young man with high aspirations, he was a good family man, a highly successful student, and a very solid athlete. He was taken from us quite suddenly after suffering brain trauma while at a retreat with college companions in the San Bernardino mountains.

Ryan was born on November 26, 2000 to Dr. Michael Michalski and Dr. Amy (Taylor) Michalski. Ryan was very active and had the example of an athletic older brother who ended up playing two sports in college, and he spent much of his childhood playing club level baseball, soccer, and lacrosse. After first attending La Jolla Country Day School he later spent his secondary years at Torrey Pines High School where he played soccer on the freshman and JV teams. He enjoyed the sport enough that he also spent 8 years as a referee with the California State Soccer Association-South, banking several thousand dollars! During his senior year in 2019 he became a member of the Torrey Pines High School tennis team as a doubles player, and after the team won the San Diego section they went on to win the CIF-UTSA Southern California state championship (open division). He continued to maintain excellent fitness in college and was gradually learning to surf, and his little brothers would work hard to emulate the number of pull-ups and push-ups their idol was able to do.

Academically Ryan was very driven to succeed. In addition to a perfect high school GPA he pushed himself to take numerous AP classes, including a math course that was offered by SDSU and conferred college credit. He scored a nearly perfect score on the ACT and was accepted to the UCSB Honors Program, under which he was pursuing a degree in Chemical Engineering. Additional insight into his endeavors is available on his LinkedIn page which also includes some details about hepatology research that he participated in at UCSD during a high school summer internship. He really enjoyed pursuing knowledge and being challenged, and among his favorite teachers were Mr. Harvie (physics) and Mrs. Chowdhury (math).

He was beloved by his three brothers Nathan (26), Connor (10), and Cooper (7). Ryan loved the Padres, Liverpool FC, and playing card games with his family. His younger brother states that Ryan was “one of the best two chess players” he ever faced.

In addition to his parents and three brothers, Ryan is also survived by his stepmother, Maureen Easley; grandfather, Michael Michalski, Sr.; Uncle, Paul Taylor and his wife Deborah and cousins, Crystelle and Larenne; great-uncle, Rick Michalski and cousins, Elle and Max Michalski; and step-grandparents, Richard Rude and Judy Taylor. He was preceded in death by great-grandfather Jim Ganson, great-grandmother Crystelle Ganson, grandmother Kathleen Taylor, and grandfather Richard Taylor -- all of whom were no doubt waiting for him with a deck of cards.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Teen Volunteers in Action http://support.challengedathletes.org/Ryan where Ryan spent 130 hours as a volunteer in high school.