02/06/2024
James “Jim” Ryan
8/5/1947 to 2/1/2023
It appears, dear friends, that Sonny Columbus has taken some inspiration from his namesakes’ namesake and has begun an adventure we cannot follow him on. Like any good Irishman (although Jim may have only been Irish in behavior), James Ryan perfected the Irish Goodbye and passed peacefully in his beloved truck on February 1, 2024, in Newburyport, MA.
James Ryan aka Jim Ryan aka Sonny Columbus aka Jimmy Jim aka Ryan aka Jim Nasium was born on August 5, 1947 to parents I never met in Columbus Ohio. Jim is survived by his loving fiancé of nearly two decades Jennet Cook, two brothers I hope to meet someday, nieces and nephews and countless people like me who considered him family although we’d fail a Maury Povich DNA test.
James moved to Cambridge MA in 1972 after completing the “orals” for his Ph.D. (which we all know now meant Puns Higher and Deeper) and had assumed he’d easily find a job out East. Well, employment was tough to come by and he ended up working on a “minority painting crew” as Jim described it. 50 plus years later he was still using those skills.
As life often goes, one thing led to another and Jim found himself establishing his first restaurant, the Rainbow Rib Room in 1977, the restaurant biz is a tricky one and the Rib Room eventually closed. In 1980 James (as he was often called then and now) opened Hoodoo BBQ at the Rathskellar a place of legendary imagination and generosity. James, like another man with the same first initial, fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless and nearly figured out how to turn water into wine before he stopped drinking altogether.
He was a talented musician and occasional honorary member of the Del Fuegos and had a way with words. Life eventually brought Jim to Boston’s North Shore. He became a beloved member of the Newburyport community. His generosity knew no bounds and he was often found helping the other residents of “the Mill” which provided him with endless fodder for his much loved “Daily Diary-a” on Facebook.
With Jim’s sudden passing, everyone is missing him including Jim’s regular companions, the Ritis brothers, especially the ever present, Arthur Ritis. Now, if you feel a twinge in your knee or hip, just think of Jim and how long he and Arthur must have been hanging out. Ladders and kitchens are not kind to bodies.
The picture is in honor of the request made in Jim’s last Christmas ransom note “If I ever go missing, I want my picture on a BEER CAN rather than a milk carton, because I want the fun people to find me.” I take some small comfort in the fact that no one has returned to say the next adventure is awful and I like to think that Mr. Butch saved Jim a comfortable spot to rest, just as Jim provided him all those years ago.
Until we meet again James Ryan
