John Ryder, Memphis attorney and prominent public servant, dies at 72

John Ryder, an influential Memphis attorney and a longtime figure in Tennessee and national politics, has died. He was 72.

Ryder, the former general counsel for the Republican National Committee, helped shape redistricting efforts across the state and the U.S. He helped build the current structure of Shelby County government through his work on the county's charter commission.

In recent years, he chaired the Tennessee Valley Authority's board and helped quell President Donald Trump’s ire at CEO Jeff Lyash in late 2020. Ryder remained an advocate for the federal agency and its public power model. He believed his hometown of Memphis should remain with the power provider instead of seeking electricity elsewhere.

Ryder practiced election and bankruptcy law at Memphis firm Harris Shelton and was widely considered an expert on election issues.

That legal expertise stretched from the halls of power across the state to his work as the longtime attorney for the Memphis and Shelby County Film Commission where he performed like "any liberal would do for us," Linn Sitler, the head of the film commission, said.

Ryder, friends said, possessed a keen strategic mind and a sense of fair play that never wavered throughout his life. He also had the uncommon ability to keep political differences civil, a trait now endangered in today’s rancorous era.

Many in Tennessee politics remembered Ryder as a public servant who played a role in turning the Republican Party from a minority into the dominant political force in the state.

"With deft legal skills and an easy manner, John Ryder helped build the Tennessee Republican Party over nearly a half century," former Sen. Lamar Alexander said.

Scott Golden, the chairman of the state Republican Party, said in a statement, "Mr. Ryder has been a confidant of almost every elected Republican in Tennessee for the last half century through his tireless and selfless giving, support, and expertise."

Redistricting efforts and public service part of legacy

Alexander, in an interview Monday, described Ryder as the backstop that kept the Republican Party from being redistricted into irrelevance.

"He was a skilled lawyer, a skilled election lawyer. He honed his skills, defending Republicans against Democrat legislatures who are trying to take advantage of Republicans in redistricting and reapportionment," Alexander said. "And when the worm turned, and the Republicans were in charge, he used the skills he learned to help the Republicans take advantage of the Democrats. But to do it, as he said, in a fair, legal way."

Alexander described Ryder as a Republican's Republican, one who didn't shout.

"He had good manners, and good taste so as society grew increasingly uncivil and coarse, John continued to have his pleasant disposition. He didn't raise his voice. He showed respect for his opponents, and he enjoyed fine wine and the opera," Alexander said.

Someone who often disagreed with him on politics, Susan Adler Thorp, a former political columnist for The Commercial Appeal and a political consultant, offered a similar description of an unwavering advocate for his community who understood civility.

"John and I, we were not political compatriots, but we were friends. And you don't always have to agree with someone in politics to respect them. And I grew to respect John, not necessarily for his politics, but for the way that he handled his life and the people around him, and I think that this community, our community probably owes a debt to John," Thorp said.

Sitler, head of the Memphis and Shelby County Film Commission, spoke of Ryder's understated impact in preserving Memphis as a film destination. He was the architect of the commission's current nonprofit status.

Sitler recalled how Ryder handled the film commission's varied and entertaining legal issues throughout the years, from rerouting a presidential motorcade with his influence or protecting the First Amendment rights of filmmakers.

"He was essential in carving out our place, how much the commission could actually do because of, of precedents that he established," Sitler said. "He truly was one of the greatest men we will ever produce."

Ryder was a product of Memphis. He graduated from White Station in 1967 and was among eight outstanding seniors honored in the school's yearbook.

The book shows a Ryder that bore a marked resemblance to the man he was later in life — brown hair and sharp alert eyes. It describes him as a National Merit Semi-Finalist and heavily involved in debate, speech and drama.

"He was the smartest guy in the class when it came to stuff like government and policy. I think it was just part of who he is part of the soul," Thorp, who graduated with him, said.

Ryder remained consistent throughout life, Thorp and Alexander said. The same sense of fair play governed him throughout.

"If he could find an advantage for Republicans within the rule of law, he would take it but he wouldn't exceed it," Alexander said.

Samuel Hardiman covers Memphis city government and politics for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by email at samuel.hardiman@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter at @samhardiman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis attorney John Ryder, a prominent public servant, dies at 72