East Thetford, VT – Ryan Thomas Pepe, beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, friend, teammate, and coach, passed away unexpectedly on December 30th, 2025, in Hanover, NH.
Ryan was born on December 28th, 2001, in Lebanon, NH, the son of Michael and Kami Pepe, and was big brother to Nolan Pepe, of East Thetford, VT. He is also survived by his grandparents, Donald and Mary Pepe of Whiting, and Paula Mayer of Middlebury; uncles, Jim and Chris; aunts, Jane and Elizabeth; and many cousins, especially Lucas, Aiden, Forest, and Sam. His extended family lives primarily in Connecticut and Vermont, yet reaches as far as Italy, where Ryan made two special trips in the last two years. Ryan was pre-deceased by his grandfather, Phillip Williams, of Middlebury.
While having had great family adventures around the world, Ryan’s favorite place was always Thetford, and he couldn’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else. He attended Thetford Elementary School and Thetford Academy (TA), where he was a high honors student, served as captain of the soccer and baseball teams, played the trombone, and participated in the rock-climbing club. He was also a member of WRJ’s Post 84 American Legion Baseball team for several summers.
When COVID hit in 2020, Ryan was heartbroken that his senior year baseball season was cancelled as he and his teammates had “big plans” to bring the Championship back to TA for the first time since 1986. When he couldn’t win it as a player, he was determined to return to TA in the role of Assistant Coach during his college and early working career. He was thrilled to be part of the 2023 season when his brother Nolan was a senior, and they did indeed secure the Division 3 Championship. Since then, he has continued to help coach soccer and baseball.
After high school, Ryan went on to the University of Vermont to “study the sciences.” There he was especially excited to be part of UVM’s baseball team when they won the 2022 and 2023 NECBA Championships, the latter of which was made all the more special because Ryan and Nolan finally got to play together. They continued to play together for a Burlington-based summer league team.
Ryan was genuinely at his happiest when on some kind of playing field, be it a baseball diamond, soccer pitch, hockey rink, or his beloved Child’s Pond.
For two summers, Ryan worked at Long Wind Tomato Farm, where he became good friends with several of the Jamaican workers. He loved the lighthearted time with them playing music, learning about Jamaican cooking, as well as playing soccer and dominos. He visited his Jamaican friends last winter in Spring Garden, Jamaica, which was something he looked forward to doing again. In fact, he had recently sent a barrel of goods to one friend whose village was hit hard by the recent hurricanes. This was typical of Ryan; he was always ready to help in any way that he could.
After graduating from UVM in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Science, Ryan immediately began working at Novo Nordisk in West Lebanon, NH, as a Cell Therapy/Lab Technician. There, he made friends and was learning about stem cell science and how it could be used for Parkinson’s and Cardiac Disease research.
Other interests of Ryan’s were hiking, weight-lifting, drawing, history, cooking, gardening, making home movies with his brother, watching the Sox and Pats, and cuddling up with our cat, Django, who is a bit lost without him, as we all are.
He was a bright light that touched many lives.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a suicide prevention organization of your choice, the American/Jamaican Red Cross, or Camp Kesem, which Ryan supported.
A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, January 10th, from 1-3 pm at the Rand Wilson Funeral Home in Hanover, NH. A celebration of life will be held in the summer.
An on-line guestbook can be found at rand-wilson.com
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