Edwin Holman Ryland of Monroe passed away peacefully in his home on Thursday, December 22nd 2022. He was surrounded by family and holding the hand of the love of his life, Pat. He was 82 years old, and this February would have marked their 60th wedding anniversary. A visitation and memorial service will be held on Friday, December 30th at St. Thomas on the Bayou, 3706 Bon Aire Dr. in Monroe at 3:00 pm. Visitation will begin at 1:00.

Ed was born in Texarkana, Texas in 1940 and was adopted by George and Marvin Ryland of Pine Bluff, Arkansas the year before his father joined the war effort. After the war, the Rylands settled into a farming life in Grady, Arkansas, and there he learned the values of respect, responsibility, and hard work from his parents and extended family. He remembered his mother as gentle and generous and his father as the smartest man he ever met. He would later write a song about his parents’ love for him, singing that they loved him as their very own “Natural Child.”

Ed grew up on a cotton and rice farm in Grady, and he spent his youth pulling stumps and marking turnrows, learning to hunt with his dad and uncles, and going to the small school that housed all grades in middle and high school. He credits his love of learning to Mrs. Hall, whom he would later visit to let her know he had earned his PhD. In high school at Grady and Pine Bluff, he lettered in football and basketball and displayed his musical talents in the theater, performing in Oklahoma, South Pacific, and The Glass Menagerie. He spent his summers at Culver Academy in Indiana, and he loved his time there rowing, boxing, and sailing. He graduated from Pine Bluff High School in 1958.

After high school, he attended Hendrix College and played football there until transferring to Arkansas State Teachers College. In addition to playing football, he continued to appear on stage in a variety of plays and musicals, and he joined with three fraternity brothers to form the Townmen Four. His rich singing voice and charismatic personality earned him a date with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, Patricia Cavenar Langford. He asked her out, and to his surprise, she said yes. Ed and Pat were married in Conway on February 23, 1963, and Ed graduated from Teachers that same year with a degree in drama and speech. To his parents’ great delight, Pat became the favorite daughter they could never have.

Six weeks after they married, they found out Pat was pregnant. Their oldest child, Ann, was born that November in Fayetteville while Ed was earning his Master’s degree. Her nursery was also his study, and she learned to sleep peacefully to the sound of his typewriter. Following graduation, Ed accepted a job in Owensville, Missouri, his first job as a teacher. They would eventually move to West Plains, close to Pat’s parents, where he was offered a job to teach and coach high school debate. Adam was born in May of 1967. It was also in Missouri that Ed was confirmed as a member of the Episcopal Church.

After the birth of their second child, Ed worked in radio in Pine Bluff before accepting a job at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He was offered a sabbatical to pursue his PhD at LSU, and he completed the degree program and dissertation in two years. While in Baton Rouge, Susan was born in 1970. The family returned to Arkadelphia and lived there for the next fifteen years. Ed ran the radio station, taught speech and broadcasting, and continued in the theater. He met lifelong friends and co-founders of Sugarhill at Henderson and, joining with members from Fayetteville and Mountain View, together they performed their unique blend of folk, old time, and bluegrass all over the state. Ed’s “Songtime” celebrates his fellowship with his musical brothers, and their kinship helped develop a lifelong love of music in his children.

Ed and his family were active members of St. Michael’s in Arkadelphia; he coached peewee football and baseball, volunteered as a “band booster,” and formed the Twin Rivers Bluegrass Band. He continued in his athletic and acting pursuits, as well, playing basketball and racquetball, and performing the leads in My Fair Lady and The Music Man. Throughout his time in Arkadelphia, he spent a lot of time on Lake DeGray–camping, fishing, and sailing–and he loved to travel with his family. On one memorable road trip, the family traveled almost 4000 miles, from the deserts of the southwest to highest peaks in Colorado. Almost every summer, the family would load up and head somewhere, often to one of his favorite spots on the planet, Grand Isle, Louisiana.

Ed got an offer to join the faculty of Northeast Louisiana University in 1984, and the family moved the next year, starting a new chapter in their lives. Ed became department head of the Radio, TV, and Film department, and was one of the principal persons responsible for getting KEDM on the air. Later, he would serve on the inaugural Board of Media Ministries, mentoring former students in the establishment of 88.7 The Cross. He continued to write and perform music, even maintaining a weekly solo gig at Enoch’s, but his music started to transition from secular to sacred after attending Cursillo in 1987. And he started to look for more opportunities to serve his community–from City of Faith and Grace Place to the Desiard Street Shelter.

Perhaps his longest lasting legacy beyond his large family is his extensive catalog of Christian music and his record of service, especially through Kairos Prison Ministry International. He started with a handful of songs recorded in a small studio built in his garage and in the end he had amassed a catalog of over a hundred and fifty songs spread over a dozen albums. Many of those songs became staples in the Kairos Songbook, and his songs have been used to praise Jesus on practically every continent. He took his music ministry to Costa Rica and Kenya. He served as music leader for the first outreach ministries to Angola and Winn Correctional facilities in the state of Louisiana; he helped to establish Kairos in Alaska, and he served as a state and national representative to carry the mission to South Africa.

Ed is preceded in death by his parents, Marvin Carnahan Ryland and George Bentley Ryland. He is survived by his beloved wife, Patricia Cavenar Ryland, and his children Elizabeth Ann Ryland, Adam Bentley Ryland and wife Mary Napoli, and Susan Lea Gray. Both Ed and Pat were adopted and raised as only children, and they were determined to build a large, loving family. He had six great-grandchildren, and his eleven grandchildren include Alyssa Rhea Orten Wiley, Sarah Elizabeth Orten Fitzgerald and husband Bryan, Hannah LeaAnn Gray, Brennon Ryland, William Ryland Orten and wife Sicily, Molly Patricia Gray, Emily Grace Ryland, Olivia Michelle Ryland, Lila Iris Napoli, Darcie Kate Gray, and Ivy Margaret Napoli.

His service to his church and community were of the utmost importance to Ed, and his hands, guided by God’s hands, have made a lasting imprint on everything and everyone he touched. Friends will remember his kind words, his big laugh, and his rich voice. Ed lived a full life, one that recognized the importance of serving others, and that includes his family, who will miss him most of all. He was the patriarch, and he ended every prayer around the table at family gatherings by asking God “to keep us always mindful of the needs of others.” May his memory and service inspire others to do the same.

To honor his life of service, the family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Thomas on the Bayou at [email protected], Grace Place Ministries, or the charity of your choice.

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