Ryan Sherrow: Smiling boy, 14, was an ace of radio-control planes

Along with his older sister, Breanna, Ryan had been accompanying his parents to RC flying events since he was a tot. Debbie and Clay Sherrow are long-time RC hobbyists who have traveled the Western states to competitions and help organize local rallies.

Ryan began flying his own planes when he was 9 and acquired a sponsor — Tucson's Electric Jet Factory — two years ago. The company outfitted the Tortolita Middle School eighth-grader with planes and had him test planes and give demonstrations at fly-ins.

"A lot of us felt there was going to be a big, big future for him because he could do things I can't even do," his father said. "He was the youngest pilot at every event."

And he was a great ambassador for the hobby, his mother said.

"He'd talk to everybody. Spectators would come over to the fence and he'd go over and answer questions," she said.

At the Coachella, Calif., Best in the West Jet Rally in mid-January, Ryan walked away with a a top award.

His sponsor and other local RC fliers expected the teen to make the jump from regional events to national — and even international — competitions within the next couple of years.

That's why it came as such a shock to the RC airplane community when members learned last week that Ryan died Feb. 4 from a sudden illness.

"I just saw him … flying the heck out of everything he had there," a hobbyist from San Diego wrote on an RC group message board.

"I have memories of watching him fly the snot out of those electrics (planes) with his dad right by his side," wrote another California flier.

Michael Cummins, president of Tucson International Modelplex Park in Avra Valley, is planning a memorial to Ryan at a jet rally in March.

"For his age, he was an excellent pilot. He continued to get better every year," he said.

John Gonzalez, a Sherrow family friend, said: "I watched him grow up. He always had an interest in flying and little by little he worked himself into quite a flier. He was always ready to try a new maneuver."

Robert Wagoner, owner of the Electric Jet Factory, has known the Sherrow family for more than 15 years.

"We would go to our model events and, essentially, Clay and Debbie were kind of like the support crew and Ryan was the crew chief and he flew all the planes," Wagoner said. "He was a product tester. It was an integral part to every new thing we were doing or upgrading. He was a very integral and important part for two years, building up to being more involved, going to national championships. He was getting so good."

Ryan preferred electric jets to battery-powered and had a talent for aerobatics. Other hobbyists would perform rolling circle maneuvers with their propeller planes, but Ryan was able to do it with one of his sponsor's jets.

"It's very difficult," Wagoner said. "We've seen nobody do that with a jet."

Said Ryan's father: "It's a very hand-eye coordination kind of thing. You have to think in three dimensions. Ryan thought in four dimensions."

It wasn't just in the skies that Ryan excelled. He had a strength of character and kindness of heart that drew others to him, his teachers and classmates said.

"He was the ideal student you'd want to have in your class. He had a heart of gold, always willing to help other students," said Tortolita algebra teacher Mike Tinghitella. "The kid would come in every single day with a smile from ear to ear."

Classmate Carly Goodin credits Ryan with helping her pass a math test.

"In algebra class, we were working in groups and I had no clue how to do a problem and he helped me on it and it all came together. It was easy after that and I scored pretty well on the test later," she said.

Ryan was a member of the middle-school's broadcasting team, which tapes video announcements that air in the classrooms each morning.

"He was great on the announcements. He was one of my favorites because he was so energetic and had great expression on his face. He would make me happy because he was happy," Goodin wrote in a letter to Ryan's parents.

"Ryan was the type of friend that could make you laugh even if you were in a terrible mood," said classmate Katie Petersdorf. "He was really smart and happy all the time. He was always smiling."

Ryan was among an elite group, said Jay Bertelsen, Tortolita's multimedia, technology and broadcasting teacher. Ryan was one of only 15 chosen from a student body of 1,000-plus to participate in on-air announcements. Ryan also served as a teaching assistant for Bertelsen, answering other students' questions and troubleshooting in the 30-screen computer lab.

"I had him as a seventh-grader in technology class and he stood out as very capable and bright and he learned pretty much everything I had to teach him, so as an eighth-grader he was an easy pick to be a teaching assistant," Bertelsen said.

This semester Ryan also was training a new crop of broadcast students.

"He excelled at the computer work," Bertelsen said. "He was one of my go-to guys for getting the videos on."

Tinghitella said he and other teachers were stunned when told of Ryan's death and had a hard time returning to class. But they're trying to focus on what Ryan meant to everyone.

"He wasn't here for a full lifetime, but I think he helped more people and spread more joy than many do in their entire lives," Tinghitella said.

Life Stories

This feature chronicles the lives of recently deceased Tucsonans. Some were well-known across the community. Others had an impact on a smaller sphere of friends, family and acquaintances. Many of these people led interesting — and sometimes extraordinary — lives with little or no fanfare. Now you'll hear their stories. Past "Life Stories" are online at go.azstarnet.com/lifestories

Find a photo gallery and video of this Life Story at azstarnet.com/slideshows

The Ryan M. Sherrow Endowed Scholarship

Ryan planned to attend college to pursue a career as an aeronautical engineer. His family has established a scholarship in his memory.

Checks, made out to UA Foundation/Ryan M. Sherrow Endowed Scholarship, can be sent to: UA Foundation, Scholarship Development Office, 1111 N. Cherry Ave., Room 312, Tucson, AZ 85721.