Maurice Ryan was born in 1927, clothed in the Franciscan habit in 1956 and ordained priest in 1962.

Educated by the Irish Sisters of Charity in Walthamstow, he moved on to the Jesuits in Stamford Hill and then to the Xaverian Brothers at Mayfield College near Tunbridge Wells. From 1946-48 he was in the royal Marines and after demob joined the Bank of England where he worked as a clerk on stocks and exchange control. In 1955 he entered the Franciscan novitiate at Chilworth, Surrey.

As a priest he ministered initially in Dundee for three years and, in 1966, was appointed guardian and parish priest at Chilworth, where he remained until 1972, returning to his previous duties in Dundee until 1975 where he also undertook ministry as a chaplain to a youth detention centre in Longforgan. He was appointed to the Bristol friary in 1975 and served as vicar to the guardian and prison chaplain until 1980.

Transferred in turn to Woodford, Nottingham and Ipswich, he carried out parochial and prison work and also acted as officiating chaplain to RAF Newton. He took up duties again in Nottingham (1984-7) and, in addition, served as chaplain to a youth custody centre at Lowdham Grange.

Back to Dundee in 1987 and thence to the Royal Hospital School, Holbrook, as Catholic chaplain, and on to Forest Gate from 1990 to 1996, serving alongside the chaplain at Brixton remand prison.

His latter years were spent in the Clevedon community near Bristol, and with the onset of dementia was resident in nursing homes both in Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare.

He died on Sunday 12th November, four days short of his 90th birthday.