Ryan Shearer dies after short fight with cancer

“He was passionate, dynamic, the life of the party that gave so much to family and friends.”
This is how Paul Shearer described his brother Ryan (38) who passed away in the Donald Gordon Hospital in Johannesburg on Friday after being diagnosed in February with stage 4 colon cancer that metastasised to his liver, pancreas, lungs and lymph nodes. He had been hospitalised since then.
Ryan matriculated at St Albans College in Pretoria in 1997 followed by a gap year in the United Kingdom (UK) where he embarked on an overland adventure through Africa from the UK to Cape Town. “He went on to do a hotel management course at Varsity College in Pretoria and spent one year completing his diploma in Australia. He then completed an advanced chef’s course at Le Gordon Bleu Culinary Institute in France followed by a job as chef at the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai for two years before returning to South Africa to join the family business,” Paul said.
Ryan started as Food and Beverage Manager at the Ranch in 2006 and worked his way up until he was appointed as General Manager in 2010.
Paul added that his brother played a big role in the community and was very involved with developing facilities and infrastructure at the Solomon Kgomo Pre-primary School through charity fund raising initiatives generated from conferencing and events held at the Ranch.
“Besides his passion for the hospitality industry he also loved food and wine, hunting, fishing, show jumping and breeding of exotic game. He also had a great love for his loyal companion Bang, a German short-haired pointer,” Paul said.
Ryan will be remembered most for his passion for life and the two brothers shared many great adventures travelling together. The ones that stood out was hiking to the base camp of Mount Everest and trips through Mexico, Canada as well as skiing in Austria, according to Paul.
Ryan got married to Janine in 2014 and a son Guy was born in February 2016.
Some of his friends paid tribute to him on Facebook.
“So many unforgettable memories with you Ryan…you were an example to us all of how to live life to the full. Thank you for the beautiful ways you touched my life and all those who were privileged to cross paths with you,” Debbie Blount said.
Besides Janine, Guy and his brother Ryan also leaves behind his mother Vicki, father Tom and sister Kate. A memorial service will be held at Protea Hotel Ranch Resort on Saturday at 11:00.

Story: RC Myburgh
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