Edward "Ed" Joseph Ryder

Edward "Ed" Joseph Ryder, 80, of Macon, GA died peacefully on August 3, 2023, at the Pine Pointe Hospice in Macon, GA. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 2 o’clock p.m., Monday, August 21, 2023, at St. Joseph Catholic Church with Father Emmanuel Antwi officiating. The family will receive visitors from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. prior to the Mass at Hart’s Mortuary at 765 Cherry Street, Macon, GA. Interment will be private.

Ed was born on May 1, 1943, in Lynn, MA. The youngest child of John Patrick and Margaret Mary Ryder, Irish immigrants who settled in Lynn, MA, a suburb of Boston. After graduating from Swampscott High School, he spent several years working for the Coca Cola Bottling Company and the General Electric Corporation. Enrolling at the University of Southern Mississippi in the Spring of 1965, he became a member of the Delta Sigma Pi business Fraternity, where he held several leadership offices. His most cherished association; however, was membership in the Newman Federation for Catholic students on secular campuses. It was there that he met his wife of 55 years, Elaine Ann Heider.

During the summer of 1967, Ed completed Officer’s Candidate School at Fort Benning, GA, receiving his 2nd Lieutenant commission in the Army National Guard in which he proudly served for six years. After his marriage to Elaine in June 1968 and his graduation from the University of Southern Mississippi in August 1968, Ed accepted a position in Atlanta, GA as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Pfizer, Inc. He worked for Pfizer for 10 years earning the distinction and award for “Man of the Year” in 1975 for the Pfipharmecs Division of Pfizer, Inc. After leaving Pfizer in 1978, he became self-employed, forming Ryder & Associates, Inc., a Specialty Advertising business specializing in corporate gifts.

Ed was an avid golfer for over forty years, developing many business friendships on golf courses throughout the country. He was a former member of the Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth, GA. Ed has been a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church the past 18 years after spending 37 of the previous years in Atlanta and Lilburn, GA. At St. Joseph he was a member of the former Prime Timers Senior Lunch Group and a Third Degree Honorary Life Member of the Knights of Columbus.

Ed is survived by his wife of 55 years, Elaine H. Ryder; daughters: Julie Joyner (Jackie); Kelley Jones (George); grandson: Chandler Evan Joyner; granddaughters: Abby Caitlin Joyner, Emily Ann Jones, and Lainey Hazel Jones, Ed is also survived by his sisters: Mary Young, Wakefield, MA; Sister Theresa Ryder, S.N.D., Ipswich, MA; Aggie Prescott, Norfolk, VA. Ed also leaves behind numerous special nieces and nephews in both his family and Elaine’s. Ed was predeceased by his parents and sisters: Margie Uzdavinis, Lynn, MA and Patricia Forbes, Peabody, MA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Ed’s memory to the St. Joseph Catholic Church Heritage Endowment Fund at https://osvhub.com/stjosephmacon/giving/funds or to the Georgia Transplant Federation at www.gatransplant.org

Please visit www.hartsmort.com to express condolences.

Hart’s on Cherry Street, Hart's Mortuary and Cremation Center, 765 Cherry Street, Macon, GA 31201 has charge of the arrangements.