Bill Ryder
William Henry “Bill” Ryder, 82, of Nashville passed away on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. He was the father of William Jay Ryder of Union City.
Bill had suffered from Parkinson’s disease for several years.
He was born in Franklin Square on Long Island, N.Y., on Jan. 19, 1944, to the late Howard and Henrietta Ryder.
Bill started college at Hofstra University before enlisting in the Army, where he served his country for 27 years retiring with the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Third Class (CW3). 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, N.C. (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 University of Southern California, William and Mary, University of Maryland and Embry-Riddle. When he retired from the Army, he completed his accounting degree, graduating from Austin Peay State University. He worked as a parole officer, then 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 U.S. 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.”
In addition to his son, Bill is survived by his loving wife, Lynn Nordstrom Ryder of Nashville; two daughters and sons-in-law, Rebecca and David Clemens of Mount Juliet and Elizabeth and Ernest Sykes of Nolensville; his daughter-in-law, Donna Ryder of Union City; and his grandchildren, Jonathan Ryder and Matthew Ryder, both of Union City, Ana Clemens and David Clemens of Mount Juliet and Lauren Sykes of Nolensville.
In addition to his parents, Bill was preceded in death by 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.
West Harpeth Funeral Home & Crematory was in charge of cremation arrangements.
A private family memorial will be held at a later date.
The family requests donations be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741 or by calling 800-708-7644.
The Messenger