Leeanna Ryba would often tease her husband, Rich, that he was off to Peter Pan’s “Never Never Land” when he’d go to Skyview Radio Society to partake in the amateur, or ham, radio activities.
“He’d play with the boys. He enjoyed his time there,” Leeanna said of the society’s Upper Burrell clubhouse. “He made new friends.”
Ryba was part of the club for about a decade until his death in August.
And while he loved the cookouts, field days and other events held by the club, Ryba was the driving force behind an event that promoted awareness for pancreatic cancer, a disease he battled for about five years.
Now, the ham radio club is continuing its Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) event in his legacy, broadcasting Saturday from Schenley Plaza in Pittsburgh and the group’s Turkey Ridge Road clubhouse.
Ryba was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019.
“It’s a legacy for Rich and also in remembrance of a really wonderful guy who had a terrible disease,” said Steve Fazekas, a radio society member.
The amateur radio special event in honor of Ryba will occur during PanCAN’s Purple Stride walk and run fundraiser, planned for 9 a.m. Saturday at Schenley Plaza, across from Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning.
It’s the first time Skyview Radio Society will broadcast from Schenley Plaza, Fazekas said. They’ll have a portable field station set up with a special event call sign, N3P.
“It’s a way amateur radio helps serve the community, and, in this case, it’s to increase awareness of pancreatic cancer and get in touch with resources to help them fight it,” Fazekas said.
The Purple Stride event is PanCAN’s largest fundraiser annually and takes place in 60 locations across the United States. Money from the event supports programs, resources, testing and research that prioritizes early detection methods and new treatments for pancreatic cancer.
Leeanna said her family was touched that Skyview wanted to carry on the event in Rich’s honor.
“I’m so happy the guys at Skyview consider it worthy to continue the effort,” she said. “It meant a lot to us.”
Upcoming Local Events
Ryba, of Lower Burrell, started the ham radio event about three years ago, Leeanna said.
When he attended Burrell High School, a friend was involved in ham radio, and Ryba was intrigued. He joined Skyview Radio Society after his retirement and quickly found a niche. He was president of the club for a period, Leeanna said.
“Rich was a very creative person,” she said. “He was always very involved in all kinds of community efforts. When we had to write his obituary, people said, ‘I didn’t know he did all those things. How did he have time?’ That was the way he was.”
Pancreatic cancer is the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, according to PanCAN. About 67,440 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. The cancer begins when abnormal cells in the pancreas grow, divide out of control and form a tumor.
“I know we’ll make quite a few contacts,” Fazekas said. “It’s amazing the amount of stories you hear that have a relative, or themselves, with pancreatic cancer. We let them know where to make donations where they choose.”