Barb Ryan, son Jon, to get honorary degrees from University of Regina

Many people in Regina know Barb Ryan as the mother of former NFLer and new Saskatchewan Roughriders punter Jon Ryan, but there are also a lot of people in the city who know her as a big helping hand.

Barb is being awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Regina on June 5 for her work with newcomer families in Regina.

For the past 10 years, Ryan has worked with the Regina Progress Club and Open Door Society to help immigrant families get settled into their new lives. She said she started after her husband died and her kids all left home around the same time. Ryan said she’d been a stay-at-home mom but it was time to try something new.

“I’ve always been sort of fascinated by people who come to our country and how they could ever adjust, what they had to do to adjust, and how they could keep their customs and their traditions and yet fit in with our society,” she explained Monday.

Sometimes the work was challenging, but Ryan said mostly it has been enjoyable. She said she can’t say how much she respects these newcomers who’ve gone through so much and accomplished so much just to come here.

Ryan said much of what she does is helping people find furniture for their new homes.

“I’ve furnished whole houses for people just from my friends,” she said. “I put out the word that we need sofas and beds and dishes, and before you know it, we’ve got a whole houseful of stuff for them — or sometimes it’s just a few things at a time.”

Ryan is still doing the work, though not as “officially” as she had been. She said she has been doing a lot of the work just through her contacts in the Syrian community introducing her to other families.

“I’ve adopted a lot of people,” she said with a smile in her voice.

Ryan keeps in contact with some of the families. She can tell stories about paying for a teenage boy from Africa to get soccer equipment and getting together with her daughters and daughters’ friends to buy Christmas gifts for 56 children in African families she has helped. Ryan called them her “African grandchildren.”

During Ramadan, Ryan eats dinner with one of her Syrian families every night.

“I come when the sun goes down and we all eat together and have tea together and chat after dinner, and it’s just a really special time for all of us,” she said.

Ryan encourages other people to volunteer as well, in whatever way they can. She said that you don’t have to be bored or lonely, but that volunteering is fun and can make you feel good at the same time.

Jon Ryan also honoured

Barb will be doubly proud on June 5 during the university’s spring convocation at the Conexus Arts Centre, as her son Jon will also be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws.

Jon is being given the honour for his charity work — his foundation which provided minor football with proper equipment and safety training, and the foundation he named after his father which provides scholarships for University of Regina Rams players.

Jon also is being recognized for his outspoken support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Barb and Jon are the first parent/child combo to be given honorary degrees on the same day at the university.

Barb said she’s so proud, “it’s going to be a great day.”

Other recipients

Renu Kapoor will be awarded with an honorary Doctor of Laws on June 6. She is a prolific volunteer in Regina, helping out organizations like Cultural Connections Regina, the United Way of Regina, and the YWCA of Regina.

This won’t be the first award for Kapoor. Among others she also has been given are the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal, Diamond and Jubilee Medals, University of Regina President’s Community Award, YWCA Volunteer of the Year Award and the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal.

Actor Eric Peterson will be given an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts on June 6. He’s an actor likely best known in Saskatchewan for his role as Oscar on the popular TV show Corner Gas.

Peterson is being recognized for his lifelong advocacy for the arts, as well as for a career that includes work in theatre including London’s West End and Broadway, and co-authoring and performing in Billy Bishop Goes to War.

On June 7, Jill and Gordon Rawlinson will be awarded honorary Doctors of Laws for their extensive philanthropy through the Rawlinson family’s foundation, the Lily Street Foundation, of which Jill is the chair.

Among many other pursuits, they helped establish the Rawlco Centre for Mother Baby Care at the General Hospital in Regina, and have supported the Hospitals of Regina Foundation, St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, the Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert, and the new Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford.

The Rawlinsons have also established programming and financial support for Indigenous business students at the universities of Saskatchewan and Regina, as well as Indigenous Entrepreneurship and the School of Journalism at the U of R.

Gordon Rawlinson is the owner and CEO of Rawlco Radio, which owns several stations in Regina and Calgary, including 980 CJME and 650 CKOM.