Obituary of Anne Crane Ryan

Anne Ryan, 91, of Basking Ridge and previously of Bay Head, NJ passed away on April 3rd at Fellowship Village, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Anne was born in Elizabeth, NJ on February 22, 1929 to Madeline and Harold Crane. She graduated from Brown University in 1950 with a BA in English. She met James “Jim” Ryan at Brown University and they were married in 1951. Anne and Jim raised their family in Basking Ridge, NJ. Anne joined the Bernards Township Library in 1966 and during her 19 years, served as Director and was instrumental in designing and building the new Library in 1974. She cherished her bridge group called “The Magnificent 7” and had hilarious stories of their multi-day “Bridge-Ins” at each other’s homes. They carried on this tradition for over 50 years. Anne moved to Bay Head in 1984. She was active in the Seaweeders Garden Club, Bay Head Yacht Club, Environmental Committee, Bay Head Improvement Association and several bridge groups. She was the founding director of the Sea Girt Library where she served for 17 years. Anne moved to Fellowship Village in 2010 where she already knew some residents from her Basking Ridge days and made new friends. She was active in: bridge, rug hooking, the library and was President of the Resident Council. She was predeceased by her husband James Ryan. Anne is survived by her two daughters, Susan Ryan Chiarulli (husband Michael “Chip”) of Summit, NJ and Lisa Ryan Burke (husband Clark) of Summit, NJ. Anne, along with her husband Jim, was a long time supporter of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Yorktown Heights, NY. Jim was a founding member of the Board of Trustees. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Guiding Eyes for the Blind, 611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, https://www.guidingeyes.org/ or The Bernards Township Library, 32 South Maple Avenue, Basking Ridge NJ 07920, https://www.bernardslibrary.org/ No services will be held at this time. Susan Chiarulli 6 Llewellyn Rd Summit, NJ 07901 Lisa Burke 255 Kent Place Blvd Summit NJ 07901