During the bombing trials in Denver in 1997, Oklahoma City U.S. Attorney Pat Ryan would proudly wear his cowboy hat.
He had it on as he and other prosecutors walked back and forth from the federal courthouse past the TV cameras that were outside every day.
Ryan, who died Thursday, Sept. 18, saw it as a signal to those back home who were impacted by the 1995 attack on the Oklahoma City federal building.
“I wanted to be a cowboy when I was a little boy, so I’ve always had boots and hats and what not, but I didn’t always wear it to work,” he said in a 2012 interview for the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.
“And I guess I just felt like … by wearing that hat, that people from Oklahoma would go, ‘OK, we’ve got a guy there who’s from Oklahoma, who is one of us, who is fighting for us.'”
Ryan became U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma after the April 19, 1995, bombing. President Bill Clinton nominated him to the position on May 8, 1995, and he was sworn in in June.
He served until October 1999, spending months at a time in Denver helping to prosecute bomber Timothy McVeigh and co-conspirator Terry Nichols.
He recalled in his 2012 interview that after taking office he immediately set about to engage the victims in the prosecution so that they would feel empowered. “For probably the better part of a year that’s all I did was meet with victim families,” he said. “And by the time that trial came around, I was pretty filled up emotionally.”
Ryan died Thursday while snorkeling with family and friends on vacation in Aruba, the co-founder of his Oklahoma City law firm confirmed Friday. He was 79.
“Pat was a beloved partner, friend, colleague and mentor to us and many others in the legal community,” Phillip G. Whaley said in a statement to The Oklahoman. “He was a singular talent as a trial attorney and advocate in courthouses across our state and the country.
More: Here’s what happened to the OKC bomber, his accomplice and others in the 30 years since the attack
“His talents as a trial attorney and service to his country and our community were highlighted during his pivotal role … in the federal prosecutions of the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City Bombing.
“His unwavering support for the victims of that tragedy reflected his core belief that the law is about people. At the same time, it was equally important to him that he do all that he could to ensure those defendants received a fair trial, as our laws provide. We, and our community, will miss him dearly.”
The Oklahoma City National Memorial also confirmed the death. “Patrick Ryan will always be remembered as an incredible Oklahoman,” the memorial said in a social media post.
In the first trial in Denver, jurors chose the death penalty for McVeigh after finding him guilty on all counts. He was executed in 2001.
Ryan was at his best in the punishment stage of McVeigh’s trial, delivering a poignant opening statement and choosing victims whose gut-wrenching losses had jurors crying. “He was a lawyer of the old school where your handshake and your word meant everything,” McVeigh’s lead trial attorney, Stephen Jones, said Friday.
This courtroom drawing of a moment from the 1997 federal trial of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh shows, from left, defense attorney Stephen Jones, U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch and Oklahoma City U.S. Attorney Pat Ryan.
In the second trial, a different jury convicted Nichols only of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter for his role. Jurors were split over the death penalty and deadlocked on punishment.
Ryan was praised for his sharp questioning during that trial of Nichols’ then-wife, Marife.
Nichols was sentenced in 1998 to life in prison without the possibility of release. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch gave the maximum sentence possible under the jury deadlock.
On the prosecution teams were lawyers from across the country, leading to what Ryan called tension at times.
Also from Oklahoma for the McVeigh trial was Vicki Behenna, then an assistant U.S. attorney. She is now Oklahoma County’s district attorney.
“He was a fantastic mentor to me, an encourager,” Behenna said Friday
His survivors include his wife Elaine. The two wed last year after reconnecting at a high school reunion.
Ryan got his law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1969. He served after that in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate prosecutor.
A cowboy hat worn by prosecutor Pat Ryan during the Oklahoma City bombing trials in 1997 is on display at the museum at the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Ryan’s cowboy hat is on display at the museum. In his 2012 oral history for the memorial, Ryan wept at times as he talked about the bombing case. “You feel like you gave a huge chunk of your life to it?” the memorial’s CEO, Kari Watkins, asked.
“I think I gave some of my soul to it,” he replied
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC bombing prosecutor Pat Ryan dies at age 79 on snorkeling trip in Aruba
