Ryan Ell Doughman

Ryan Ell Doughman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 2, 1966, to Connie and Robin Doughman. He died in Lamy, New Mexico on Tuesday, December 14, 2021. His father preceded him in death. He is survived by his daughter Rhiannon Miquela Doughman, his mother Connie Doughman, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Known affectionately as Manx Harbormaster by those of us who loved him, Ryan was the “Harbormaster of The Port” a fictional location in the middle of the high desert so named by an organization called the Society for Creative Anachronism. A creative soul, he was also a musician who performed as a bassist in local bands playing in Santa Fe venues. Music and his left-handed Rickenbacker remained essential elements throughout his fifty-five-year life. 

He came to New Mexico with his parents at the age of six. The family settled in Lamy where Ryan grew, became a master craftsman and ultimately a full partner in what would become the family’s flourishing architectural design and woodworking business situated not more than ten feet from the family home. For close to half a century, Rock Ridge Studios was a leading design and woodworking enterprise throughout New Mexico and the American Southwest. Over the decades, the family left its artistic mark on a wide range of hotels, businesses, and homes including Santa Fe’s Inn and Spa at Loretto and Albuquerque’s Rio Grande Inn. In addition to a line of furniture reflective of the Design Arts of the West, Rock Ridge Studios became known for its iconic handcrafted screen doors.

Ryan was an integral factor in the development of their property in Lamy where he and his dad built their home with their own hands. It has been their foundation, their haven, their refuge, their port in the storm. It is the place where they created thousands of pieces of beautiful art, cabinetry, furniture, doors, and screen doors.