He was the city attorney of South St. Paul from 1933 to 1934. He was delegate to the
Democratic National Conventions in 1936 and 1940, and was elected as a
Democrat to the
74th (defeating
Henry Arens),
75th, and
76th Congresses (January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1941). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the 77th Congress. He resumed the practice of law, then entered active duty in the
United States Army on June 23, 1942, as a lieutenant in the
Selective Service. He was promoted to captain and transferred to the
Judge Advocate General’s department, later promoted to major and was discharged on October 1, 1945. He again resumed the practice of law in South St. Paul He died in an automobile accident on
Wisconsin Highway 35, five miles north of
Somerset, Wisconsin, February 1, 1958; he was interred in
St. Joseph's Cemetery (Rosemount, Minnesota). He had been married to Elenore Ford (daughter of Joseph Moravec and Cristine Kriz Moravec), who predeceased him, and they had two children, Elmer James Ryan and Jacque Ryan. Having lost his first wife in the birth of their second child, he later married Marjorie Fuller Ryan, with whom he had 4 sons, John Fuller Ryan, Geoffrey Fuller Ryan, Jeremy deMarsh Ryan, and Joseph deMarsh Ryan. ==References==