Ry California Beardsley, 44, left us all too soon as he slept in the early hours of Sunday morning, March 27, following a beautiful long Saturday with his loving wife and their four young children, ages eight through fourteen.
Ry was born in San Luis Obispo and attended San Luis Obispo High School and later Cuesta College and California Polytechnic State University. In 2004, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Business.
Ry grew to be a sizable strong man but faced some challenging medical issues along the way. And personal issues, too, as a working single parent. Fortunately, he and his mother, Denise, stayed very close. She and her husband Craig for years worked diligently and sacrificed for Ry and his children while he continued his long career position as an armed security officer with PG&E. Ry’s children were always paramount in his life choices.
Ry could be very sharp-minded, witty, and could laugh easily. He was also robust, cerebral, philosophical, and strong-willed. He had many friends and loved NFL football. He combined those two with an annual trip with buddies to Las Vegas each Super Bowl weekend. He was also a big fan of fantasy football, video games, and trivia, at which he excelled. He loved the outdoors, and Montaña de Oro was one of his favorites. He took his children there to love the sand and the sea, just as his father took him from the days he carried Ry on his shoulders.
In January 2017, Ry’s life took a wonderful new turn following his fortuitous meeting and falling for Megan McGuire. They would marry in 2020 and have a most divine honeymoon in Big Sur, a place that took on special meaning. They loved each other most dearly. They each went into the relationship with two elementary school-age children, and Ry embraced his role as head of the family enthusiastically. He took the children on lots of day trips, to church regularly, and read to them in the evenings. They carried on a tradition of cutting down the family Christmas tree each year. The children all thrived in their stable, loving household like never before. Their welfare, education, and personal growth became Ry’s passion.
The family purchased a home on a 12-acre property in rural Templeton in 2021, and a farm-type life was started as a completely new life experience. They got chickens and goats, tried pigs and a couple of cows, adopted one dog, soon a second and a third, bought a tractor, built a work shed and a goat pen, started planting a whole variety of things and made home and landscape improvements. The kids did increasingly well at school and at home had lots of room to run around and play and learn about animals and nature. They were a family working together. They all seemed to thrive in this new lifestyle which was really just getting started.
Ry was leading a life of fulfillment and riding high when he tragically died so suddenly. As we try to move on, there is this consolation: We can be confident that when Ry died in his sleep, he was a man certainly feeling good about life and himself.
Ry is survived by his wife Megan, son Elias, daughter Lily, stepson Tayton, stepdaughter Coral, father George “Dew” Beardsley (stepmother Jacquelin), mother Denise Dingman (stepfather Craig), stepbrother Shaun Behrens (Meghan), nephew Jackson and niece June, stepsister Kristen Black (Alexis) and nieces Mackenzie and Audrey.
Arrangements are by Blue Sky Cremation Service. There will be a Remembrance of Ry BBQ event to be held at the Beardsley Ranch in Templeton on April 19 at 4 pm. Guests should contact by email meganmc2213@gmail.com.
