Brush Prairie — Maude Ryan was born on the border between Arkansas and Louisiana on Feb. 8, 1914. She was the eldest of five children and is the only one still living.
Her family farmed cotton, and she got her education in the fields. She loved learning, and when she was older, she earned her GED diploma at Clark College shortly before her son was born.
Ryan married her husband, Oscar “O.G.,” when she was 21. During their early years, they traveled throughout the country while he worked at various jobs. When the family settled in Vancouver, she worked at the Del Monte plant and Jantzen Knitting Mills.
Ryan was married to her husband for 46 years before he died in 1982.
She has one son, Don, who lives in Ariel, and one granddaughter.
She enjoyed the activities at Luepke Senior Center and then volunteered there for 20 years. Ryan lives at Emeritus at Orchards Village and likes crocheting, knitting and making trinkets out of discarded items. She enjoys a good laugh, likes to tell stories and is an inspiration to other Emeritus residents.
Friends and family will celebrate her birthday from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at Emeritus at Orchards Village, 10011 N.E. 118th Ave.
