Ryan I. Ketner

A memorial service celebrating the life Ryan I. Ketner, 40, of Geneva, Illinois, formerly of Granville, will be held at 8:00 P.M. Friday, October 9th at First United Methodist Church, 88 N. Fifth St., Newark with Rev. Steven Rath as celebrant. The family will receive friends Friday, October 9, 2015 from 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 P.M. at the McPeek-Hoekstra Funeral Home in Granville.

Ryan passed away Sunday, October 4, 2015 at his home in Illinois. He was born in Newark, Ohio in 1975 to Robert I. and Margaret (Spring) Ketner of Granville.

After graduating with the class of 1994 in Granville, Ryan went on to earn his Master’s degree in Education. As an English Instructor, an Accessibility Specialist and developer of the First Year Experience, he was successful in motivating students and used his gift of teaching to transform students' lives. He was recently a student advisor at Joliet Junior College where his short tenure did not diminish the impact of his presence. The staff there says the changes he made will impact students for years to come.

Full of life and always into something, Ryan could be found rooting for the Buckeyes, developing his company, No Echo Games, with his friend, Ryan Marshall, traveling with his wife, and spending time with his family. Impacted at a young age by movies, Ryan strived to live honorably and sacrificially like the heroes he adored from the “Ketner Family Classics”. Ryan Ketner was a Jedi. Above all, Ryan will be remembered for his spontaneity, passion for teaching, and the indelible mark he has left on many lives.

Surviving are his wife, Amanda R. “Amy” Ketner, whom he married in 2003; step daughter, Bethany Storm Goff; maternal grandmother, Alice Spring; brother; Robert I. Griffin; sisters and brothers-in-law, Alisha B. Saultz, D.O. and David, and Julie and Josh Kemp; aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

Preceding Ryan in death are his paternal grandparents, Jack and Betty Ketner; and maternal grandfather, Joe Spring.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.mcpeekhoekstra.com.