I remember Mary Ellen fondly. In fact, just yesterday, I came across an email she had sent me when she was in England. I always enjoyed her loving nature, her extraordinary grasp of linguistics, her musical talent, and her genuine friendship.

Peter, thank you for your friendship. My thoughts are with you.

Tom Talboy

My deepest sympathy, Peter. Mary Ellen was my favorite professor at BSU. I enjoyed karaoke with her and the Christmas parties at your home.

Much love.

I was a student in Mary Ellen's Linguistics course this past summer, and it was an honor to learn from such an incredible person and teacher. She was so full of energy and humor, and she had an immense knowledge of so many subjects that went beyond Linguistics. She was also incredibly generous with her time. Mary Ellen sacrificed her personal time so that she could be available for her students so that they might better understand, study and practice the material. She was available day & night, on weekends--whenever her students needed her, she made sure she was there for them. I am truly saddened to know that future students will not have the incredible experience of knowing her and learning from such a great person. Mary Ellen Ryder was a rare and irreplaceable gem among professors, and among people--any student that had the privilege to take one of her courses is no doubt forever changed by having had the experience.

Her love of animals, her love of family, her joy of traveling, and the excitement she had for Linguistics was evident in her teaching style, in her comments in class, and in the teaching materials she provided to students. I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to have known her, and to have had the privilege to learn from such an amazing professor. I am certain that her memory will live on in the positive impact she had on her students' lives, as well as the lives of her colleagues and family.

To all of Mary Ellen's family and friends, my thoughts and prayers go out to you during this incredibly difficult time.

(I've already posted this in a story thread, but I want to make sure it's read)

First, I want to tell all of the victims of the fire that I am just heartsick for them. I can't imagine losing my home to a fire that suddenly.

Not only have numerous families been affected by this fire in terms of material loss, but we've also lost a wonderful woman.

I'm sitting here, trying to think of the words that could pay a great tribute to Mary Ellen. She was my linguistics teacher too, and like others, found sheer delight in her passion for all things that had to do with her subject area. I'm just starting my final semester at Boise State, and even though I am done with my coursework, I enrolled in one of her classes. I enjoyed Mary Ellen that much. I'm supposed to be in class with her right now.

I'm just another English student from Boise State; and I just hope that I'm able to affect my students the way she's affected all of us.

We're going to miss you, Mary Ellen.

Deepest condolences go out to my fellow students, her colleagues, friends and family, (especially Peter).

Mandy Hardan

I had the pleasure (and pain, at times) of taking several of Mary Ellen's courses back in the early '90s, and it didn’t take long to see that she was one of those rare people who has a natural ability to teach. Unlike many university professors who might see teaching as secondary to research and furthering their academic careers, Mary Ellen was a teacher—first and foremost. She was demanding, but fair.

However, she was, in a sense, not just teaching us, but learning with us, as well. A fellow traveler on the academic journey.

I remember a particularly grueling psycholinguistics exam. As a class, we scored badly. However, since the entire class was in the same boat, she did something I’ve seen few professors do: she climbed into the boat with us. She acknowledged that, if the entire class did poorly, then something must have been wrong with the way she’d taught the material. As captain of our craft, she took upon herself some of the responsibility for our bad performance and adjusted the scores accordingly. While not a total bailout, it was fair.

As a fellow traveler, she treated us all with respect. There was no reason why we couldn’t succeed. It might take a bit of effort on our parts—and it might require her to sacrifice her time to conduct study sessions and one-on-one tutoring—but we could succeed. By having faith in us, she taught us a lesson most valuable: she taught us to have faith in ourselves.

My sympathies to Peter, her family and friends, and all those she touched.

Rest forever in peace…

Rhett Tanner

When they do teacher and students alike always seem to be happy to be there and fond of the teacher, thankful for what they helped them accomplish.

That is a huge loss. When I listened to her husband being interviewed on KTVB, I noticed that he seemed heartbroken but grounded and he thanked those who were concerned like they were family members.

In some ways they likely were.

Mary Ellen was my advisor as I went through the linguistics program and I grew to love her like no other professor. She was such a strong, charismatic woman and you knew the second she walked into the room - her presence was astounding. Her excitement for linguistics and life in general was contagious. I loved every second I spent in her classes and in her home. She will be deeply missed.

My deepest condolences go out to Peter and everyone who knew and loved her. I hope that I can carry a little bit of her personality with me, for she truly affected me for the better.

My family and I moved from Boise to Huntsville Alabama four years ago. The news of Mary Ellens death had us in tears yesterday. I found my 20 year old daughter crying in her room last night. That is the impact tha this loss has on us, even after not seeing Mary Ellen in those four years.

We met her by chance at a casual meeting over coffee with friends, and after that, every time we met, it was a delight. She had such a love to learn what everyone was doing, and was never too busy to remember,and make you feel special.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all she left behind. We are better people for having known you, Mary Ellen.

Susan St. Clair
New Market, Alabama

I am grateful to have been a student of Dr. Mary Ellen Ryder. I loved her from the first day of class and she has since become my favorite and most respected teacher at Boise State-she has touched my life and she will be missed. This world has lost a very special human being. My prayers and thoughts are with her family and friends.

A friend left this comment on my Myspace page and I can't say it any better:

Mary Ellen was the best professor I've had to date, and I doubt many will challenge that. She was also one of the finest individuals to walk the face of the planet, and she changed my life forever. Even the loss of the contents of her house, with decades of wisdom and knowledge, would have been heartbreaking. To think I will never get the chance to see her again is absolutely crushing. And I can't even imagine what's going through her husband Peter's mind.

Mary Ellen was one of the best instructors I've ever met. She was willing to help her student and was the best linguistics instructor BSU had. I actually enjoyed all my linguistics classes because of her. Not only was she a good person she also had a kind soul. She was the reason I stuck it out through college and obtained my bachelors degree. Never have I met any one else who lived their life to the fullest as she did. Mary Ellen you will be greatly missed! Peter you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Brandi Bechtel