Ryan Mark Gratzer

BURLEY – Ryan Mark Gratzer, a 25-year-old resident of Burley, passed away Monday, June 26, 2023, at Cassia Regional Hospital, with his mom holding his hand. He was surrounded by his dad, mom, brothers and partner.

Ryan was born September 28, 1997, in Newport News, Virginia, to Mark and Trudy Gratzer. He became a big brother to Brandon just a year-and-a-half later and shortly thereafter the family moved to Boise, Idaho. At five years old, he became a big brother again to Devin. They were the three musketeers. The three of them were the light of Mark and Trudy's lives.

Ryan developed so many friendships while attending school in Boise, and he kept in contact with most of them throughout the years. When Ryan was ten years old, the family moved to Burley, Idaho. Ryan quickly developed new friendships. Ryan was such a likeable person and seemed to be the life of the party in any circumstance. People were naturally drawn to him. Ryan made a positive impact on many people.

Ryan graduated from Burley high school in 2016. After graduation, he attended BYU- I for a short period. While attending college, he met the love of his life, Shad Geist. The two of them left college and moved to Burley and began their life together. Ryan decided to go into real estate, so they moved to Boise to begin the next chapter of their lives. Sadly, his real estate career came to a halt due to COVID. Ryan then signed up for and was accepted at BSU for admission into their nursing program. He was excited to venture into the medical field. Sadly, Ryan was diagnosed with cancer in June 2021. The treatments were rough on him, so he had to quit college and his job. Ryan and his mom made many trips to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for surgeries and treatment. Ryan was cancer free for three months before being told the cancer had returned. Ryan and Shad moved back home with Ryan's parents in September 2022. They all did what they could do to take care of him. It was a team effort.

In February of this year, he and Shad stayed in Rochester, Minnesota for two months while Ryan received radiation treatments. They came back home late April and two short months later, the cancer and treatments took Ryan's young life away from us, way too soon. He fought cancer for two years, and he fought with all he had and then some. His parents, brothers and partner are so proud of him!

Ryan was a fun, loving, caring, kind, strong, and brave man. He will always be known for his infectious laugh, kind heart, and his gorgeous smile.

Ryan is survived by his parents, Mark and Trudy; his brothers, Brandon (Elise), and Devin; his partner, Shad; his doggy daughter, Penny; paternal grandmother, Trish (Carl); maternal grandfather, Dennis; and nieces and a nephew.

Ryan was preceded in death by his maternal grandmother, Elaine; and paternal grandfather, Steven.

We want to thank the Mayo Clinic, specifically his oncologist and ENT surgeons, Dr. Alluri (his local oncologist), Dr. Guercio for all that he did to help Ryan, Nydia and Derrik from home health and hospice and all his friends that came and visited him. This is not goodbye, this is 'til we see you again.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 1, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, located at 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley. Burial will follow at Paul Cemetery.

Family and friends will be received from 5 until 7 p.m. Friday, June 30, and from 10 until 10:45 a.m. Saturday, at the funeral home.

A live webcast of the Funeral Service will be available and maintained at the following link: https://youtu.be/Vz_rKXjSzII.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Osteosarcoma Institute (https://osinst.org/donate) in memory of Ryan.