Luceil Jane Harris Ryan of Blountsville, Alabama, departed this life on November 17, 2021, at her residence, three weeks before her 99th birthday. Mrs. Ryan was born Dec. 7, 1922, on Stouts Mountain near Hanceville, Alabama, the oldest child and only daughter of Luther Jane Harris and Pearl Jenkins Harris.
Mrs. Ryan graduated from Hanceville High School in 1938 and completed her nurses training at South Highlands Infirmary in Birmingham. She married Martin Everett Ryan on July 25, 1942, and the couple raised three children and traveled around the United States during Mr. Ryan’s Air Force career. Mrs. Ryan served as a room mother, Cub Scout den mother, Brownie and Girl Scout leader, Band Booster, and active Parent Teacher Association volunteer and delegate to the California PTA convention, among other things. Throughout their travels, Mrs. Ryan served as a Sunday School teacher everywhere the family lived.
The couple returned to Alabama in 1970, where Mr. Ryan embarked on a second career with the Federal Aviation Administration, and Mrs. Ryan continued caring for her disabled daughter, Janice, and continued her tradition of civic involvement. She was an active member of the Sycamore Valley Homemakers Association and, as avid gardeners, she and Mr. Ryan were members of the Blount Iris and Daylily Society, serving as hosts of several flower tours. Mrs. Ryan also judged flower shows at Blount and Cullman County fairs. The couple also raised cattle.
Mrs. Ryan enjoyed painting, and she produced hundreds of original works of art over a period of more than 50 years. At the request of her 102-year-old Aunt, May Millican, Mrs. Ryan hosted an art showing at her home on her 90th birthday, attended by dozens of family and friends.
Mrs. Ryan is predeceased by her husband, Martin Everett Ryan, Sr.; her parents; her brothers, Clifford Harris and Ray Harris; her daughter, Janice Helen Ryan; and her granddaughter, Jessica Lynn Thompson. She is survived by her daughter, Joyce Susan (Jeff) Thompson and son, Martin Ryan, Jr., both of Blountsville; granddaughter, Susan Thompson (Bert) Spence of Birmingham; and great-grandchildren, Arrany Laura Spence, Elwyn Ryan Spence, and Thompson “Tom” Berton Spence.
