July 12, 1983 - May 9, 2023

Jonathan Scott Ryder was born in Lynn, MA and moved to Brewster shortly after. A true

renaissance man, with a passion for Shakespeare, parlor plays, the horror genre, and a deep

appreciation for history and the natural world.

He graduated from Nauset Regional High school in 2002 and went on to obtain a Bachelor of

Fine Arts in English with a minor in Theater at Roger Williams University in 2006 where he

studied abroad in Europe and Italy. Shortly after, he entered the wine and spirits industry where

he became a wine connoisseur. In 2014 he took an immersive ESL Certificate Program in

Boston. In 2017, he graduated with a master's in creative writing from Goddard College. He

retired from the wine industry in 2018 to pursue his ultimate passion, writing, where he went on

to write several works, including his historical fantasy fiction novel, Dare the Dark.

Jonathan was a member of the Cape Cod Writers, Center, Books in the World, Cape Cod Media

Center, directing, acting and Technical Director at The Academy of Performing Arts and helping

other theaters such as Cape Rep, Cape Playhouse, WHAT theater, and Eventide.

Jonathan kept his brilliant mind active by pursuing many passions including, traveling, and

experiencing diverse cultures, Hurstwic Viking Combat, Japanese anime (YuYu Hakusho being

his favorite), and going to Anime and gaming conventions. He also enjoyed playing fantasy

tabletop RPGs and attending game nights at Vanguard Skills.

Life experiences were so important to him. He always said, "life is finite, people need to go for

their passion and dreams." "Do what makes you uncomfortable and don't be afraid to face

yourself". All he ever wanted was to have a positive impact on the world and inspire others,

which he has undoubtedly achieved in such a short amount of time.

He was one of the most unique, intelligent, talented, passionate, tenacious, resilient, and loving

person you could ever meet. Jon really knew something about everything. He thrived on deep

intellectual conversations and was a true "encyclopedia of words". His spirit will live on for an

eternity and in the hearts of those who had the honor of knowing him. He passed away

peacefully at home, holding the hand of his loving wife Kate Ryder, after enduring an intense

two month battle with aggressive stage IV esophageal adenocarcinoma.

He is predeceased by his father Douglas S Ryder (1999), his mother Sherry A Ryder (2011) and

his stepfather Richard Cross (2019). He leaves behind his wife Kate Ryder who he called his Earth

Angel, his stepdaughter Andrea Holmes, his in-laws Will and Gail Long, his sister in-laws Mindi

Rutty, Veronica Rutty, Annie Story (nieces Eve, Ivy, and Liv) Bethany Long (Chris Johnson) his

brother in-law Michael Rutty and the Cross family including Jamie, Mary Alyce and Ellie. He also

leaves behind two close friends, Peter Taylor, and Mark Roderick along with so many others.

Lastly, his cat Cleopatra who he affectionately referred to as his familiar.

This universe will never be the same without you. Indeed, Jonathan, indeed.

There will be a celebration of life for Jonathan at a later date. His family would like to thank

everyone for the overwhelming amount of support for this great loss. He truly was legend.