Lyle Ryder Obituary

Lyle Clearman Ryder, age 88, of Rockaway, New Jersey, passed away on Sunday, July 13, 2025 at his home in Rockaway, New Jersey with his family by his side.
Lyle was born in Morristown, New Jersey to the late Frank and Janet Ryder and was raised in Seguin Texas. He was a resident of Rockaway for 57 years. He met the love of his life, Diane, in 1963 and the couple were married one year later, most recently celebrating 61 years together.
Lyle was a member of the Catholic faith and was a proud parishioner and served as a lector at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church. Additionally, he was involved at St. Cecilia Church in Rockaway Borough with a ministry outreach for women needing financial help to provide for their families as they chose a pro-life pathway. He was an active and passionate member of the Rockaway/Denville Catholic Right to Life Ministry.
Lyle earned his Bachelors in Science from Newark College of Engineering, now known as NJIT in 1959. He soon worked for the American Hard Rubber Company as a chemical engineer. He was an accomplished engineer who proudly claims two patents to his name. Eventually his career led to him becoming the vice president of technology of Ames Rubber Corporation, which he retired from in 2000. Passionate about his profession, Lyle was a distinguished member of the American Chemical Society from 1977 to 1999.
Lyle enjoyed being physically active. Ever since he was a young boy he excelled at baseball and basketball. Additionally, he was an avid golfer with his passion for the sport having begun in high school. Through his business travels he eventually became fortunate enough to play at a number of major golf courses across the nation. Before its closure, Lyle was at Rolling Green Golf Course nearly every day during his retirement. Besides being physically active, Lyle kept applying his mind during those golden years and took computer programming classes at the County College of Morris, and that is where a new passion and talent began.
Those who knew and loved Lyle will remember him as a kind, encouraging, and supportive man.
He is survived by his cherished spouse Diane Ryder; two children, Jeffrey Ryder and Donna Butler; his daughter-in-law Lori Ryder, and grandchildren, Jordan Ryder, Riley Ryder, and Finn Butler.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 16th 2025 from 5:00-7:00 PM at Whitham-Kanapaux Funeral Home 20 Keller Ave., Rockaway, New Jersey 07866. A funeral service will follow visitation at 7:00 PM at the funeral home.
Condolences may be sent to: RockawayFuneral.com
In memory of Lyle, memorial contributions may be directed to any of the following charities that were dear to his heart: Tunnels to Towers Foundation at t2t.org, Wounded Warrior Project at WoundedWarriorProject.org, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at StJude.org