Ryan, Elmer J., 1907-1958.

Elmer J. Ryan was born in Rosemount, Minnesota on May 26, 1907. He was the son of John O. and Agnes T. (Hyland) Ryan. He graduated from Rosemount High School, and attended the college of St. Thomas (St. Paul, Minn.) for two years. Ryan earned an LL.B. degree from the University of Minnesota law school in 1929. In September 1929 he and classmate Harold E. Stassen organized the law firm of Stassen & Ryan in South St. Paul, Minnesota. Ryan served as South St. Paul city attorney from May 1933 to December 1934.

In 1934 Ryan was elected to Congress as a Democrat from Minnesota's second district. He was re-elected in 1936 and 1938, but was defeated in his bid for a fourth term in 1940 by Republican Joseph P. O'Hara. Ryan returned to private practice in South St. Paul after leaving Congress.

Ryan served in the United States Army during World War II, entering active duty on June 23, 1942 as a lieutenant in the Selective Service. He was later promoted to captain and transferred to the Judge Advocate General's department, and still later was promoted to major. Ryan was discharged as a lieutenant colonel on October 1, 1945, and returned to his law practice in South St. Paul. During his years in the military he was stationed in St. Paul and in Washington, D.C.

Ryan served as secretary of the First District Bar Association (1931), was a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, and the Knights of Columbus. He was a delegate to the 1936 and 1940 Democratic national conventions. Ryan supported Harold Stassen in his successful race for governor of Minnesota (1938), and supported Stassen's bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1948. Sometime after leaving office he became a Republican himself.

Ryan married Elenor A. Moravec of Glencoe, Minnesota in 1934. The couple had two children, Jacqueline and Elmer, Jr. Elenor died February 4, 1938. He married Marjorie Ann Fuller, originally from Thief River Falls, Minnesota, on July 31, 1939. The couple had four children: John, Geoffrey, Jeremy, and Joseph.

Elmer Ryan was killed in an automobile collision near Somerset, Wisconsin on February 1, 1958. Interment was in Rosemount, Minnesota.

From the guide to the Congressional files and related papers., 1905-1971 (bulk 1934-1940)., (Minnesota Historical Society)