Rebecca "Beckie" Ryan

REBECCA (“Beckie”) CATHERINE RYAN

Rebecca Catherine Ryan, age 21, of Ithaca, passed away at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse on Friday, January 29, 2021 after sustaining traumatic injuries from a traffic accident.

Rebecca, known as BECKIE (because it was spelled like COOKIE), is the daughter of Joseph (Joe) and Jessica (nee Mullen) Ryan and the sister of Gilday Ryan. She was employed as support staff at Ithaca Community Childcare Center (IC3) and was also enrolled as a student at Tompkins Cortland Community College pursuing an Early Childhood degree, where she was named to Dean’s List last semester. Prior to transferring to TC3, Beckie was a student at Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania.

She is predeceased by her maternal grandmother Catherine Mullen and paternal grandparents Dr. Ralph Gilday and Katherine Kerwin Ryan. She is survived by her maternal grandfather, Thomas (Tom) Mullen of Waverly, New York. Beckie was the beloved niece and cousin of large, loving Irish-Catholic families on both her mother and father’s side, totaling 12 aunts and uncles and 45 first cousins. She absolutely loved family gatherings and was always found playing with the younger cousins and enjoying the food at any party or gathering.

Her friends were many and she knew no stranger—and strangers, especially the excluded, shy, or lonely soon became her friend. She always invited, included, and extended the gift of friendship to all she encountered.

Beckie was born in Rockville, Maryland on May 3, 1999 but lived in Ithaca since 2001. She was educated at Cayuga Heights Elementary School and Immaculate Conception School and graduated from Notre Dame High School, Class of 2017 where she was active in chorus and the drama club, performing in many concerts, plays, and musicals. One of her favorite high school memories was the ND choir trip to New York City where they performed at Carnegie Hall.

Beckie loved acting and performing and was in many school productions as well as a member of Running to Places Theatre Program performing in several R2P musicals during high school. She filled her spare time and summers at Acting Out New York, CSMA Star Search, and the Hangar Theatre Next Generation School of Theatre program. Her favorite role ever was playing Mamma Mae Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie with the Hangar. Post-high school she was a member of Encore Players Community Theatre performing most recently in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in 2019. She was a member of Trumansburg Community Chorus and the St. Catherine of Siena choir where she was also a parishioner and active in Youth Ministry when in high school.

In addition to acting and singing, Beckie’s main passion in life was playing with and caring for young children. She was delighted to be a member of the staff at IC3 and adored the young children in her care and so enjoyed her co-workers and mentors.

Beckie’s life was filled with humor, fun, zany antics, and many, many friendships. From Girl Scouts to summer camp at Hidden Valley 4-H and Casowasco, to theatre and acting camps, her youth was all about the passion of living life fully and being generous of spirit and kind to everyone.

She was a definite foodie and enjoyed going out to eat often, especially to MOE’S and Chili’s and if there was a cookie, cupcake, brownie, or make-your-own-sundae, she always chose the biggest and most chocolate!

Beckie enjoyed watching TV shows and movies a lot but one of her great loves was listening to audio books from the time of her youth, like listening to Beezus and Ramona to the many Young Adult books she read and listened to as a young woman. During high school and after, she spent many happy hours hanging out at the Tompkins County Public Library doing homework and selecting her next audio book, often choosing several at a time.

As a young adult, she also was a budding activist and was impassioned and empowered to use her voice to bring light to any injustice that excluded or marginalized people. With pride, her family and friends hold her advocacy for others as one of the beacons of light she brought into this world.

Bang’s Funeral Home will be handling arrangements but due to COVID restrictions, no calling hours will take place. A Mass of Christian Burial (by invitation only) will be held on Friday, February 5, 2021 at 11 A.M. EST but live-streamed from the St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church website https://stcathofsiena.org/ and will be available for viewing anytime thereafter. She will be buried at Calvary Cemetery.

Once all COVID restrictions are lifted and it is safe to gather in large groups, Rebecca’s family will hold a celebration of her life in warm weather months at Stewart Park sometime in the future.

In lieu of flowers, people are invited to support one or more of Rebecca’s favorite charitable organizations in her memory: Ithaca Community Childcare Center, Notre Dame High School (Elmira, NY), Running to Places Theatre Program, and/or Encore Players Community Theatre.