Why am I shaving my head, and why should you care?

On January 2, 2026, the world as we knew it changed for everyone who knew Jeffrey “Hughey” Ryan. For me personally, it certainly did, as I lost my dad, best friend, and hero to lung cancer.

In remembering my dad, a good ol Wyoming boy that ventured to Las Vegas to embark in his more than 30-year career in the casino business, it’s been hard to ignore the fact that neither my sister nor I should be alive as living proof of how truly good of a man he was, as he was originally diagnosed with leukemia when he was a teenager in 1981. Because of that treatment, although he successfully defeated the disease against all odds, he was told that he would never have kids. Luckily for us, the doctors were only wrong about that part, and my dad has three grandsons who he was proud to know will carry on his legacy.

In order to commemorate his battle and to support other children who are in the same fight, my dad had been shaving his head with St. Baldricks in Las Vegas for more than 15 years, before he began attending the event the past few years in Reno alongside my 5-year-old nephew, Ellis. This year, Ellis wanted to keep the tradition alive in my dad’s honor, in order to “shave his head like grandpa used to.” In solidarity with the courage and bravery of Ellis, I will also be joining him in shaving my head to honor my dad, his life, and his legacy, and to hopefully help raise some funds to help give another child battling cancer a shot at creating a family and legacy of their own.

I think Ellis said it best that “I know if he was still here today, he would be shaving his head to support a cause that was near and dear to his heart. I’m happy to be doing this for him and for kids who are fighting just like he did.”

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