Nicholas Alexander Dudley Ryder's Obituary
Nicholas Alexander Dudley Ryder, beloved son and a friend to many, passed away in Salt Lake City on July 25, 2021. He was 26.
Nick was a quiet and gentle soul with a huge heart and a sweet sense of humor. His death was another senseless loss in this country’s epidemic of substance use.
Born in South Carolina, Nick was adopted at birth and grew up in Silver Spring, MD, where he lived in the same home until leaving for college. He was baptized at nearby Grace Episcopal Church and nurtured at Grace Episcopal Day School. Nick attended McLean High School in Potomac, MD, where he ran cross- country, wrestled, and, not to be bound by convention, went to prom in a white linen suit. Nick was fiercely independent and an out-of-the box thinker, always striving to do his best, even when things were not easy for him.
Nick loved to read, especially the wry novels of Carl Hiaasen, which followed his dry sense of humor and appreciation of irony. His good humor and generous spirit, along with his good looks and tousled blond hair, charmed peers and adults alike. Nick was a man of few words, but with those he knew, he had an infectious quality that made him great company.
Part of Nick’s great character was that he seemed almost incapable of being judgmental, and was always present for others facing hardship. His gentleness extended to “fluffies” and “furries” as he called cats and dogs when a youngster, and he tended to befriend the neediest.
Although an avid cyclist for some years, Nick’s real passion was for cars. He was slow to recycle car magazines and later much enjoyed a temporary valet job that gave him the opportunity to get behind the wheel of high-end cars.
“Shelby” spent the summers working at Calleva, an outdoor education facility in the Washington D.C. suburbs, cementing his love of the outdoors. That led him, after graduation from McLean, to Springfield College in Massachusetts, from where he graduated in 2018 with a degree in Recreation Management and a minor in YMCA studies.
Nick leaves many heartbroken friends in the greater Washington D.C. and Salt Lake City areas and recovery communities.
Nick is survived by his parents, Christopher Ryder and Lisa Summers, as well as his brother, Jake Hudson, his “nana” Diane Hudson, and his Aunt Jill Hudson, all part of his birth family in South Carolina. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his grandmother Jeanne Ryder, and his uncle Victor Summers and aunt Lotus McElfish.
Nick’s birth brought great joy to his grandfather Victor F. Summers and to Margaret Ann Summers, Lisa’s mom, who was thrilled to “finally!” have a grandchild. Nick also enjoyed and later in their lives spent relaxed time with Chris’s late father, Richard Dudley Ryder and Chris’s late mother Angela Jiovanna (Melotti) Ryder, both vivid characters to whom Nick was drawn. Nick is survived by other loving relatives in the Ryder, Summers, Hudson, Melotti, Fuqua, Quennell and Klinc-Giallombardo families.
Nick was also predeceased by his birth mother, Catherine Hudson and his uncle Mark Campbell Dudley Ryder. Cathy and Mark were also casualties of addiction.
The best memorial to Nick is for us to live our lives fully, in gentleness and peace, being present for those who need us. If you wish to make a donation in Nick's memory (and in lieu of flowers), please consider:
•YMCA of Haiti, https://bit.ly/WorldServiceGive noting in the Comments/Special Instructions box “for YMCA Haiti"
•YMCA of Central Maryland, https://fundraise.ymaryland.org/give/113923/#!/donation/checkout or
•Maryland SPCA, https://mdspca.org or
•your local animal shelter.
There will be a memorial service Sunday, August 29, 2021 at 1p at Grace Episcopal Church, 1607 Grace Church Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910, followed by an outdoor reception. Everyone is asked to be masked in the church.You can join the service remotely by visiting Grace Episcopal Church Silver Spring's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=grace%20episcopal%20church or YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyX8yku_kDLh1uwHEUyo_pA. A streaming video link will be available shortly before the service begins.
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