John Joseph "Jack" Cryan

Captain, U.S. Navy

John Joseph Cryan was born 31 March 1921, in Mount Vernon, NY, to Cornelius V. and Hazel Emily (Carlson) Cryan.

He entered the U.S. Naval Academy from the U.S. Naval Reserve and graduated in June 1943 with the Class of 1944. During World War II, he served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CV-9) as Assistant Navigator. Upon completion of flight training in 1945, he was designated a Naval Aviator and flew in Rescue Squadron One and in Patrol Squadron Forty-Five and Fifty-Six. His last operational assignment was as Commanding Officer of Patrol Squadron VP Twenty-One.

In 1950, he graduated from the Naval Intelligence School with subsequent duty assignments aboard the USS Coral Sea (CVA-43), the National Security Agency, the National Security Agency (Pacific), the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Naval Intelligence Command. He attended the Naval War College in 1965 and later earned a Master's degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.

Cryan's duty station assignments included Ottumwa, IA; Pensacola, FL; Saipan; Norfolk, VA; Bermuda; Pearl Harbor, HI; Brunswick, MA; Ft. Meade, MD; and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. He retired from the Navy in 1973 while serving at the Pentagon as the Deputy Chief, Naval Intelligence Command. His numerous commendations include being awarded the Legion of Merit on two separate occasions. Jack Cryan retired from the Navy as a Captain.

In retirement, he worked for Chelsea Title and Guaranty Co. and Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co., Bethesda, MD, in senior management roles; retiring in 1983. He also served as President of the Maryland State Title Insurance Association and on the Board of Directors of the Chesapeake Harbor Community Association. He was a member of the St. Anne Episcopal Church in Annapolis. He relocated from Annapolis, MD, to Sun City Hilton Head, Bluffton, SC, two years before his death.

Captain John Joseph "Jack" Cryan, USN (Ret.), died of congestive heart failure while surrounded by his family on 11 September 2010.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Francis Irene Cryan, who died in 1993; and son, John J. Cryan III.

He is survived by his daughter, Hazel Lynne Moon and her husband David L. Moon; five grandchildren, Andrea McOwen, Bob Parks, Cherie Ryan, Michelle Rush and Colleen Cryan; and eight great-grandchildren.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/88567830/john-joseph-cryan