Obituary of Rian N. McKeag

Rian N. Mckeag, age 32, of Glastonbury, passed away at home, November 12, 2018, surrounded by his family, after a long, courageous battle with cancer.  

Rian was born in Hartford, CT, and was a life-long Glastonbury resident. He attended Glastonbury Public Schools and CCSU, where he earned a Masters of Education degree in TESOL. He worked at South Windsor Public Schools as an ESL teacher. Rian was passionate about his work as a teacher and found his greatest fulfillment working with the young children of recent immigrants, guiding them in the nuances of the English language and helping them adjust to life in America.

From his earliest years, Rian loved the outdoors, especially fishing, hiking, biking and kayaking, through countless family camping trips to Maine, Campobello Island, and maritime Canada.  An avid hiker, Rian completed piece-meal walks of several State trail systems over the years. Since early childhood, he made dozens of trips to Japan, connecting to family there. As a young adult, he traveled widely in Asia and Europe, making many solo trips, and was always keenly interested in the next possible destination.  Rian reserved a special passion for building the plastic model series, "Maschinen Krieger," designed by the Japanese artist and sculptor Kow Yokoyama. 

Rian was predeceased by his maternal grandfather, Yukichika Minakuchi, in Japan, and his fraternal grandparents, John and Dorris Cox.  He is survived by his parents, John and Moriyo Mckeag; his brother, Sean, and Sean's partner, Emma; his maternal grandmother, Yoshie Minakuchi; his aunt, Ayako Fujiwara; and cousins Shuhei and Saki Fujiwara, in Japan. 

Funeral arrangements are private. For expressions of online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com.  In Rian's memory, please consider a donation to Make-A-Wish Foundation, at www.wish.org/donate, or St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, at www.stjude.org/give.