William H Ryder

William (“Bill”) Henry Ryder (1944-2026)

William Henry Ryder, 82, of Nashville, TN, passed away on Wednesday, July 8th, 2026. He was born in Franklin Square on Long Island, New York on January 19, 1944 to Howard and Henrietta Ryder. 

Bill started college at Hofstra University before enlisting in the Army, where he served his country for 27 years. In his first job in the military he worked on the Army’s last steam locomotive. When the locomotive was retired, he attended flight school. He then served several tours in Vietnam, where the helicopter he was piloting was shot down. He continued flying Huey helicopters until he was stationed at Fort Bragg, NC (82nd), where he transitioned to a T180 fixed wing aircraft. He was then stationed with his family in Hanau, Germany (503rd Aviation), where he again flew Hueys, and also AH-1Cobras. His final military posting was at Fort Campbell, KY (3rd of the 101). Overall, he was stationed at military bases in New York, California, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Germany, and Kentucky/Tennessee.

During his time in the military, he continued his education, attending classes at USC, William and Mary, University of Maryland, and Embry-Riddle. When he retired from the Army, he completed his accounting degree. He then worked as an auditor for the State of Tennessee until retirement. 

Bill loved to travel. While stationed in Germany, he liked to pack his family in the car and drive to whichever country struck his fancy. After retirement, he and his wife, Lynn, continued their travels across the US and Europe. Bill was able to visit all 50 states. In true auditor form, he supplied a travel excel spreadsheet to his children every time he left the country. Bill loved math, animals, and the great outdoors (as long as it did not involve the ocean or boats). He was also a lover of sweets. Eating the entire package of Oreos and having to run all of the calories off to maintain flight weight was a normal occurrence for him. His love of Oreos continued until his final days. Bill enjoyed eating good food, drinking good beer, and good company. Bill also loved movies. He was particularly fond of Monty Python, Casablanca, Show Boat, My Fair Lady, and Dr. Strangelove.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Henrietta Ryder; his sister, Joan Downs; his brother, Howard Ryder; his ex-wife, Virginia Ryder, who was the mother of his three children; and his second wife, Patricia Ryder.

Bill is survived by his loving wife, Lynn Nordstrom Ryder; his son, William J. Ryder (Donna Ryder); his daughter, Rebecca Clemens (David Clemens); his daughter, Elizabeth Sykes (Ernest Sykes, Jr.); and his grandchildren, Jonathan Ryder, Matthew Ryder, Ana Clemens, Lauren Sykes, and David Clemens. A private family memorial will be held at a future date. 

Donations to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research would be greatly appreciated in lieu of flowers.