Perished, along with the 1961 United States Olympic Figure Skating Team in a plane crash in Belgium.
Daniel Ryan
1961 U.S. World Team coach
Danny Ryan, 31, was a pioneer in the history of ice dancing, as he was among the first to perform the free dance in competition and participated in the first World Figure Skating Championships that included ice dancing. Danny was raised by his grandmother, Caroline Naylor, in Bridgeport, Conn. A national roller skating champion, he tried ice skating for the first time in Washington, D.C., when he attended Catholic University. Coached by Lewis Elkin and Walter "Red" Bainbridge, he partnered with Carol Ann Peters in ice dancing and trained at the Washington Figure Skating Club, and in Lake Placid and Canton, N.Y. Ryan served in the U.S. Army while winning the 1953 U.S. ice dancing title and the bronze medal at the 1952 and 1953 World Championships. Ryan retired from competitive skating in 1953, taught at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa, Ontario, and married skating instructor Rose Anne Paquette. In 1955, the Ryans moved to the Midwest, teaching at the Winter Club of Indianapolis. Students Larry Pierce and Marilyn Meeker were the 1959 U.S. junior ice dancing champions and members of the 1960 U.S. World Figure Skating Team. When Meeker had an accident in practice seven weeks before the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ryan and Pierce recruited Diane Sherbloom from Los Angeles to become Larry's temporary partner, and they became the 1961 U.S. ice dancing champions. When Ryan flew to Prague, he left behind his wife and five children - Kevin, Patrick, Terri Anne, Sheryl and Michael; his eldest was 5, his youngest two weeks old.
Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961, killing 73 people, including the entire U.S. figure skating team.
At the airport, Daniel Ryan - who coached ice dance champions Larry Pierce and Dee Dee Sherbloom - called his wife, Rose Anne, one last time before boarding Sabena Flight 548. He had a few simple and loving requests. "Promise me three things - that you will go to church, always keep smiling and take care of yourself."
Mr. Ryan had been an an American ice dancer who competed with partner Carol Ann Peters. They came in 3rd in the United States Championships in 1951, 2nd in the US and 3rd in the World Championships in 1951 and 1st in the US, 1st in the North American Championships and 3rd in the World Championships in 1953. He became a coach after he retired from skating.
The man they memorized
Terri Ryan Sullivan, born in 1958, remembers her father, Danny Ryan, only in brief sequences she thought were dreams until years later when her mother confirmed they had happened.
In one, she is supposed to be napping but keeps running back into the kitchen where her parents are having lunch. Danny chases her down a hallway, teasing that he's going to catch her.
"When you lose a father at 2½ years old, you don't have the grief of someone who knew him -- you grieve not having a father throughout your life," Terri said.
A sandy-haired, blue-eyed former U.S. ice-dancing champion, Danny quickly took to coaching but never lost the look of a man concocting mischief. RoseAnne Paquette was olive-skinned, high-cheekboned and self-contained. They fell hard for each other in her native Ontario, married in 1955, taught together at the Winter Club of Indianapolis and had five children in five years.
Their youngest, Michael, was just 2 weeks old when Danny left for Prague. RoseAnne would have gone, too, had the baby come earlier.
"She told me that people would ask her what she was going to do, and she'd say, 'What do you mean? I have five children. I'm going to go back to work and put food on the table,'" Sullivan said.
RoseAnne, who died at age 75 in November, didn't have the luxury of time for self-pity. Instead, she became a world-class multitasker. She taught skating full-time, made cheese fondue on Christmas Eve, sewed costumes for her students, gardened and made pottery. In photos from the 1960s, the children are dressed impeccably in matching outfits.
At the Hall of Fame induction for the 1961 team, Terri spoke while her sister Sheryl held the engraved bowl bearing Danny's name: "Fifty years ago, we lost our father from our immediate family. But our larger family, our skating family, came to be by our side." The Ryan brothers emerged from the crowd, and the five siblings wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.
Daniel Ryan
1961 U.S. World Team coach
Danny Ryan, 31, was a pioneer in the history of ice dancing, as he was among the first to perform the free dance in competition and participated in the first World Figure Skating Championships that included ice dancing. Danny was raised by his grandmother, Caroline Naylor, in Bridgeport, Conn. A national roller skating champion, he tried ice skating for the first time in Washington, D.C., when he attended Catholic University. Coached by Lewis Elkin and Walter "Red" Bainbridge, he partnered with Carol Ann Peters in ice dancing and trained at the Washington Figure Skating Club, and in Lake Placid and Canton, N.Y. Ryan served in the U.S. Army while winning the 1953 U.S. ice dancing title and the bronze medal at the 1952 and 1953 World Championships. Ryan retired from competitive skating in 1953, taught at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa, Ontario, and married skating instructor Rose Anne Paquette. In 1955, the Ryans moved to the Midwest, teaching at the Winter Club of Indianapolis. Students Larry Pierce and Marilyn Meeker were the 1959 U.S. junior ice dancing champions and members of the 1960 U.S. World Figure Skating Team. When Meeker had an accident in practice seven weeks before the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ryan and Pierce recruited Diane Sherbloom from Los Angeles to become Larry's temporary partner, and they became the 1961 U.S. ice dancing champions. When Ryan flew to Prague, he left behind his wife and five children - Kevin, Patrick, Terri Anne, Sheryl and Michael; his eldest was 5, his youngest two weeks old.
Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961, killing 73 people, including the entire U.S. figure skating team.
At the airport, Daniel Ryan - who coached ice dance champions Larry Pierce and Dee Dee Sherbloom - called his wife, Rose Anne, one last time before boarding Sabena Flight 548. He had a few simple and loving requests. "Promise me three things - that you will go to church, always keep smiling and take care of yourself."
Mr. Ryan had been an an American ice dancer who competed with partner Carol Ann Peters. They came in 3rd in the United States Championships in 1951, 2nd in the US and 3rd in the World Championships in 1951 and 1st in the US, 1st in the North American Championships and 3rd in the World Championships in 1953. He became a coach after he retired from skating.
The man they memorized
Terri Ryan Sullivan, born in 1958, remembers her father, Danny Ryan, only in brief sequences she thought were dreams until years later when her mother confirmed they had happened.
In one, she is supposed to be napping but keeps running back into the kitchen where her parents are having lunch. Danny chases her down a hallway, teasing that he's going to catch her.
"When you lose a father at 2½ years old, you don't have the grief of someone who knew him -- you grieve not having a father throughout your life," Terri said.
A sandy-haired, blue-eyed former U.S. ice-dancing champion, Danny quickly took to coaching but never lost the look of a man concocting mischief. RoseAnne Paquette was olive-skinned, high-cheekboned and self-contained. They fell hard for each other in her native Ontario, married in 1955, taught together at the Winter Club of Indianapolis and had five children in five years.
Their youngest, Michael, was just 2 weeks old when Danny left for Prague. RoseAnne would have gone, too, had the baby come earlier.
"She told me that people would ask her what she was going to do, and she'd say, 'What do you mean? I have five children. I'm going to go back to work and put food on the table,'" Sullivan said.
RoseAnne, who died at age 75 in November, didn't have the luxury of time for self-pity. Instead, she became a world-class multitasker. She taught skating full-time, made cheese fondue on Christmas Eve, sewed costumes for her students, gardened and made pottery. In photos from the 1960s, the children are dressed impeccably in matching outfits.
At the Hall of Fame induction for the 1961 team, Terri spoke while her sister Sheryl held the engraved bowl bearing Danny's name: "Fifty years ago, we lost our father from our immediate family. But our larger family, our skating family, came to be by our side." The Ryan brothers emerged from the crowd, and the five siblings wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.
Perished, along with the 1961 United States Olympic Figure Skating Team in a plane crash in Belgium.
Daniel Ryan
1961 U.S. World Team coach
Danny Ryan, 31, was a pioneer in the history of ice dancing, as he was among the first to perform the free dance in competition and participated in the first World Figure Skating Championships that included ice dancing. Danny was raised by his grandmother, Caroline Naylor, in Bridgeport, Conn. A national roller skating champion, he tried ice skating for the first time in Washington, D.C., when he attended Catholic University. Coached by Lewis Elkin and Walter "Red" Bainbridge, he partnered with Carol Ann Peters in ice dancing and trained at the Washington Figure Skating Club, and in Lake Placid and Canton, N.Y. Ryan served in the U.S. Army while winning the 1953 U.S. ice dancing title and the bronze medal at the 1952 and 1953 World Championships. Ryan retired from competitive skating in 1953, taught at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa, Ontario, and married skating instructor Rose Anne Paquette. In 1955, the Ryans moved to the Midwest, teaching at the Winter Club of Indianapolis. Students Larry Pierce and Marilyn Meeker were the 1959 U.S. junior ice dancing champions and members of the 1960 U.S. World Figure Skating Team. When Meeker had an accident in practice seven weeks before the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ryan and Pierce recruited Diane Sherbloom from Los Angeles to become Larry's temporary partner, and they became the 1961 U.S. ice dancing champions. When Ryan flew to Prague, he left behind his wife and five children - Kevin, Patrick, Terri Anne, Sheryl and Michael; his eldest was 5, his youngest two weeks old.
Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961, killing 73 people, including the entire U.S. figure skating team.
At the airport, Daniel Ryan - who coached ice dance champions Larry Pierce and Dee Dee Sherbloom - called his wife, Rose Anne, one last time before boarding Sabena Flight 548. He had a few simple and loving requests. "Promise me three things - that you will go to church, always keep smiling and take care of yourself."
Mr. Ryan had been an an American ice dancer who competed with partner Carol Ann Peters. They came in 3rd in the United States Championships in 1951, 2nd in the US and 3rd in the World Championships in 1951 and 1st in the US, 1st in the North American Championships and 3rd in the World Championships in 1953. He became a coach after he retired from skating.
The man they memorized
Terri Ryan Sullivan, born in 1958, remembers her father, Danny Ryan, only in brief sequences she thought were dreams until years later when her mother confirmed they had happened.
In one, she is supposed to be napping but keeps running back into the kitchen where her parents are having lunch. Danny chases her down a hallway, teasing that he's going to catch her.
"When you lose a father at 2½ years old, you don't have the grief of someone who knew him -- you grieve not having a father throughout your life," Terri said.
A sandy-haired, blue-eyed former U.S. ice-dancing champion, Danny quickly took to coaching but never lost the look of a man concocting mischief. RoseAnne Paquette was olive-skinned, high-cheekboned and self-contained. They fell hard for each other in her native Ontario, married in 1955, taught together at the Winter Club of Indianapolis and had five children in five years.
Their youngest, Michael, was just 2 weeks old when Danny left for Prague. RoseAnne would have gone, too, had the baby come earlier.
"She told me that people would ask her what she was going to do, and she'd say, 'What do you mean? I have five children. I'm going to go back to work and put food on the table,'" Sullivan said.
RoseAnne, who died at age 75 in November, didn't have the luxury of time for self-pity. Instead, she became a world-class multitasker. She taught skating full-time, made cheese fondue on Christmas Eve, sewed costumes for her students, gardened and made pottery. In photos from the 1960s, the children are dressed impeccably in matching outfits.
At the Hall of Fame induction for the 1961 team, Terri spoke while her sister Sheryl held the engraved bowl bearing Danny's name: "Fifty years ago, we lost our father from our immediate family. But our larger family, our skating family, came to be by our side." The Ryan brothers emerged from the crowd, and the five siblings wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.
Daniel Ryan
1961 U.S. World Team coach
Danny Ryan, 31, was a pioneer in the history of ice dancing, as he was among the first to perform the free dance in competition and participated in the first World Figure Skating Championships that included ice dancing. Danny was raised by his grandmother, Caroline Naylor, in Bridgeport, Conn. A national roller skating champion, he tried ice skating for the first time in Washington, D.C., when he attended Catholic University. Coached by Lewis Elkin and Walter "Red" Bainbridge, he partnered with Carol Ann Peters in ice dancing and trained at the Washington Figure Skating Club, and in Lake Placid and Canton, N.Y. Ryan served in the U.S. Army while winning the 1953 U.S. ice dancing title and the bronze medal at the 1952 and 1953 World Championships. Ryan retired from competitive skating in 1953, taught at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa, Ontario, and married skating instructor Rose Anne Paquette. In 1955, the Ryans moved to the Midwest, teaching at the Winter Club of Indianapolis. Students Larry Pierce and Marilyn Meeker were the 1959 U.S. junior ice dancing champions and members of the 1960 U.S. World Figure Skating Team. When Meeker had an accident in practice seven weeks before the 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Ryan and Pierce recruited Diane Sherbloom from Los Angeles to become Larry's temporary partner, and they became the 1961 U.S. ice dancing champions. When Ryan flew to Prague, he left behind his wife and five children - Kevin, Patrick, Terri Anne, Sheryl and Michael; his eldest was 5, his youngest two weeks old.
Sabena Flight 548 was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961, killing 73 people, including the entire U.S. figure skating team.
At the airport, Daniel Ryan - who coached ice dance champions Larry Pierce and Dee Dee Sherbloom - called his wife, Rose Anne, one last time before boarding Sabena Flight 548. He had a few simple and loving requests. "Promise me three things - that you will go to church, always keep smiling and take care of yourself."
Mr. Ryan had been an an American ice dancer who competed with partner Carol Ann Peters. They came in 3rd in the United States Championships in 1951, 2nd in the US and 3rd in the World Championships in 1951 and 1st in the US, 1st in the North American Championships and 3rd in the World Championships in 1953. He became a coach after he retired from skating.
The man they memorized
Terri Ryan Sullivan, born in 1958, remembers her father, Danny Ryan, only in brief sequences she thought were dreams until years later when her mother confirmed they had happened.
In one, she is supposed to be napping but keeps running back into the kitchen where her parents are having lunch. Danny chases her down a hallway, teasing that he's going to catch her.
"When you lose a father at 2½ years old, you don't have the grief of someone who knew him -- you grieve not having a father throughout your life," Terri said.
A sandy-haired, blue-eyed former U.S. ice-dancing champion, Danny quickly took to coaching but never lost the look of a man concocting mischief. RoseAnne Paquette was olive-skinned, high-cheekboned and self-contained. They fell hard for each other in her native Ontario, married in 1955, taught together at the Winter Club of Indianapolis and had five children in five years.
Their youngest, Michael, was just 2 weeks old when Danny left for Prague. RoseAnne would have gone, too, had the baby come earlier.
"She told me that people would ask her what she was going to do, and she'd say, 'What do you mean? I have five children. I'm going to go back to work and put food on the table,'" Sullivan said.
RoseAnne, who died at age 75 in November, didn't have the luxury of time for self-pity. Instead, she became a world-class multitasker. She taught skating full-time, made cheese fondue on Christmas Eve, sewed costumes for her students, gardened and made pottery. In photos from the 1960s, the children are dressed impeccably in matching outfits.
At the Hall of Fame induction for the 1961 team, Terri spoke while her sister Sheryl held the engraved bowl bearing Danny's name: "Fifty years ago, we lost our father from our immediate family. But our larger family, our skating family, came to be by our side." The Ryan brothers emerged from the crowd, and the five siblings wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
