Three family members — Michael Ernest Ryan, 41, Paula Marie Ryan (Vivian), 34, and their 11-year-old son, Michael Anthony Wallace Ryan — of Topsail will be remembered at their funeral Thursday morning at Christ the King Church in Southern Harbour, Placentia Bay.
The funeral for 18-year-old Sarah Anne Stride, who lived in St. Lawrence, is scheduled for Friday morning at the Salvation Army Church in Lewisporte.
The crash happened at around 5 p.m. Sunday on the TCH west of the Chapel Arm exit, near Bellevue.
Police say the Ryans’ SUV, which was travelling east, collided with Stride’s SUV, which was in the westbound lane.
All four died at the scene.
Stride’s 16-year-old male passenger was critically injured and was taken to hospital in St. John’s.
The Ryans’ obituary, which is posted on the James Hickey Memorial Funeral Home website, ends with, “Those we love can never be more than a thought away... for as long as there’s a memory they live in our hearts to stay.”
On her Facebook page, Paula’s mother, Dianne Sexton wrote, “I am sitting here this morning with my heart torn to (shreds). … There’s no other word for it... My soul is gone … with what life that I have right now… is going to need all of my friends & families’ support.”
Stride’s obituary on the Gordon Woolfrey Funeral Home website recalls her love of life, “Sarah Anne was one of a kind; her smile could light up a room. She was vivacious, fearless, always willing to try something new. She was fun-loving, caring and a champion for the special needs and less fortunate. Her love for animals was undeniable; her cat Hunter received more love and squishing than anyone else. She loved makeup and fashion, which caused storage issues in her closet. Sarah Anne was a lover of the arts... especially music and musical theatre, which she was a big part of at school.”
