Howard C. Ryan

Howard Christopher Ryan (June 17, 1916 – December 10, 2008) was an Illinois attorney and judge, including service as judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois (1970 to 1990), and that court's Chief Justice (1982–1985). Early and family life A native of Tonica, LaSalle County, Illinois, Howard C. Ryan grew up on a farm, and was educated in the local public schools, then LaSalle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College, the University of Illinois and the University of Illinois College of Law. He would enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and serve 43 months during World War II as a radio operator with the 2nd Ferry Division Air Transport Command. In 1943 he married Helen (née Cizek), who predeceased him. They had a son and a daughter. Their son H. Chris Ryan, Jr., would continue his father's path as a lawyer and local judge and in 2010 begin serving as Chief Judge of the .13th Judicial Circuit Career