Born on July 4, 1989, Ryan Vanderveen was raised in the small rural town of Lowell, Michigan, USA. Circa 2012, he began researching his family history and proceeded to immerse himself in a variety of amateur genealogy-adjacent projects, one of which involved the careful cleaning of his paternal grandparents' headstones (Martin and Katherine Vanderveen, buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Grand Rapids, MI).

Throughout the 2010s, Ryan went on to clean multiple graves of strangers and family members alike in his spare time, becoming something of a traveling "cemetery tourist," visiting the graves of his favorite historical figures, such as H.P. Lovecraft in Providence, Rhode Island, or General George S. Patton in Luxembourg.

Subsequently, Ryan catalogued and maintained many family records in the interest of preserving and honoring his ancestors' tradition of military service. Both of his grandfathers served in the U.S. Army, and he enlisted to follow in their footsteps. Ryan's time working as a military funeral detail leader for the 3/126th Infantry (U.S. Army / Michigan Army National Guard) led to a greater interest and career involvement in the deathcare industry.

Ryan currently works as a cemetery services counselor and resides with his wife, Lucy Davis Vanderveen, in Holland, Michigan. His hobbies include continuing his military service in the 3/126th Infantry Scout/Sniper Platoon, oil painting, hiking, paranormal investigation, songwriting, and referring to himself in the 3rd person.