Graduated from the University of Colorado in Boulder, 1969 with a B.A. in political science, lived in Boulder area until 1977 working as a carpenter and contractor, applied to law school, decided not to attend. Began rock climbing, skiing and flyfishing, purdued those interests in Colorado, met my future wife, married in 1977 and moved to Bozeman, MT that same year. During this time I continued to play in recreational basketball leagues, continuing my passion from Paramus High.

Started a small residential construction company in Bozeman (Ken Ryder Construction, Inc.) which I continue to operate to this date. All thew while pursuing my outdoor interests of rock climbing, skiing, flyfishing, white water kayaking and cycling. Raised three great kids, Adam and my twin daughters Lindsay and Genevieve. I attended Montana State University for a while pursuing a masters degree in physical geography which I did not complete. I divorced in 1993 and have been single since.

My work opened up some interesting doors for me and I had the good fortune of traveling to Bhutan in the Himalayas on five different occasions where I worked as a consultant for the construction of a large traditionally designed hotel in the western mountains of that beautiful country. For the past year and a half I have been doing voluntary consulting work with the Montana State Univ. School of Architecture for the construction of the Khumbu Climbing Center in the Mt. Everest region of Nepal, where I traveled in the fall of 2010.

Over the past 22 years I have travelled frequently to Southern California where my parents retired. My father passed away several years ago but my mother, at 92, is still living independently in beautiful Ojai, California near Ventura and Santa Barbara. Several years ago I started surfing the breaks in this area and look forward to my trips to the coast to pursue this challenging sport.

I've had a few health set backs over the years the loss of sight in my left eye in 1991 the development of osteoarthritis in my hips (had my right hip resurfaced in 2002) and other "aches and pains" of aging, but overall I am hanging in there pretty well. I try to do yoga regularly and find that it has really helped with flexibility, strength and balance along with concentration and giving me a sense of well-being.

With the "Great Recession" still upon us (at least in the building business) I have been fortunate in weathering this economic downturn with some good projects, but like any small business owner, always sweat where the next good project will come from. Keeps it exciting, ha!

Looking to the future I plan on engineering a simple retirement which will enable me to be in warmer climes in the winter months but be in beautiful Montana during the summers and fall for the great flyfishing and other outdoor recreational activities I love so much. Travel has always been a passion of mine, especially international travel so I hope to see as many exotic places around the world as I am able. Morocco, Bali, Scotland, Italy (where I lived for 4 years before starting at Paramus High as a sophmore in 1962), Eastern Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South America are all on the list.

So, as this crazy world continues to spin on its axis, global temperatures warm, oil still fuels us and fuels the fires of rage between countries and we search for a better way to live, I will always remember and embrace the PHS motto "Gnothi Seauton".

Recalling my years at PHS it simply has to be centered around sports, specifically basketball. I continue, to this day, to love hoops. As a sophmore, I made the sophmore and JV teams, then in my junior year I suited up for varsity games and actually got playing time as a varsity player even starting a few games towards the end of the season. I was a starter as a senior playing forward and filling in at center when Ron Hille was on the bench. I guess I was best known as a defensive player and always drew the other teams best player if he was a forward or center to guard. It was always very satisfying to shut down the star as best I could and help the Spartans to a victory. I had a decent jump shot, was a fair rebounder but I lacked good ball handling skills. I am amazed how players today, even big men, can dribble, go between their legs, etc. But, I'm sorry, the way these guys dribble these days... the refs would have been blowing the whistle constantly in our time for "palming" or carrying the ball!! Hoops, gotta love it!