03/31/2022
Sister Janice Ryan, a leading Vermont advocate for social justice, died Wednesday, according to state and federal officials. She was 86.
A member of the Sisters of Mercy, Ryan served as president of Trinity College of Vermont, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and education adviser to the late U.S. Sen. Jim Jeffords.
State Rep. Tiff Bluemle, D-Burlington, announced Ryan’s death Wednesday on the floor of the Vermont House.
“Her contributions to Vermont and, indeed, to this body are almost impossible to catalog,” Bluemle said. “But I’d suggest that those of us who knew her will remember most the example she set — of how to be both candid and kind, how to listen deeply and advocate fiercely, to balance idealism and practicality.”
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