This tribute by Alan Goldbloom also appears in the Pioneer Press

Jim Ryan: A savvy CEO, he also was a passionate advocate for people who needed one

Many people knew Jim as the chief executive who helped build Ryan Cos. from a local construction firm to one of the nation's largest real estate development companies with more than $1 billion in revenue. Less known was the advocate who fought for the homeless and disadvantaged, inmates and ex-offenders; who played a key role in starting the new Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis; and who passionately believed that the children of the Twin Cities deserved the best patient care in the country.

The story of Jim's involvement with Children's began eight years ago when his and Colleen's son Sean, then a teenager, swallowed a tiny key in a freak accident at home. When Sean was taken to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis for an X-ray, they found the cross-shaped key — and, right behind it, a cancerous tumor.

The Ryans were thankful that Sean's accident led them to Children's, where he received early diagnosis and successful treatment for his Hodgkin's lymphoma. Jim often told the story about how the entire Children's care team "wrapped their arms around us" and helped his family through a very scary experience. They've never forgotten Sean's caregivers; for example, every year the Ryans buy a dinner put on by our oncology staff as a donation to Children's annual silent auction.

Jim and Colleen were determined to give back to Children's. But when we invited Jim to join our board of directors in 2002, we couldn't have anticipated how his national reputation and leadership in the construction and development industry would make him the ideal person to lead us through the largest improvement project we've ever undertaken.

Jim's passion and commitment to the project were as strong as if his own firm had been hired to do the work. He was involved in every stage of development, from land acquisition and fundraising to the design and budgeting, from the Children's Gallery inside to the parking ramp — he even made sure the painted lines in the parking ramp were farther apart to accommodate families with strollers.

Jim saw development not just as a chance to build another building, but as an opportunity to enrich and improve the surrounding community. He had already made his mark in the Phillips neighborhood, where our Minneapolis campus is, through Ryan Cos.' redevelopment of the old Sears building into the Midtown Exchange. The nearby Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, another of his passions, has shown remarkable success in providing college prep education and corporate internships to low-income, inner-city youth.

In this same spirit, Jim sought to ensure that our expanded Minneapolis campus enhanced the surrounding neighborhood. The result will be a tree-lined block that offers patients and the public alike a Healing Garden and Grove, specially commissioned public art and seasonal outdoor dining — not to mention a state-of-the-art hospital.

Jim had a big smile, an aversion to neckties and a genuine manner whether talking with another CEO or with the waiter pouring his coffee. But his modest and self-effacing style belied a shrewd and powerful intellect and a passionate leadership we will sorely miss at Children's.

Jim often called Sean "his hero" for the way his son faced illness and chemotherapy with a positive, upbeat attitude. Jim took much the same approach as he fought his own illness. For that reason, and for so many others, Jim deserves to be called a hero, too.

Alan L. Goldbloom is president and CEO of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.