•ANN (CAMERON) RYAN

On a bright Sunday afternoon in Olympia, Washington, our mom, Ann (Cameron) Ryan, laid down for a nap. While dozing she had a thought so big it burst a vessel in her brain. Mom was known for her thoughts and this one must have been a real doozy because on May 25, 2021, it carried her away.

In addition to being known for her thoughts, Mom also was known for her firm convictions, good ideas, baseless opinions, full-on generosity and unwavering loyalty. Mostly she was known for being a good storyteller. Some of her best stories were set in her home town of Rossford, Ohio, just outside of Toledo (yes, she was a big fan of Maxwell Q. Klinger).

Throughout her life, Mom carried the spirit of Rossford with her. No matter where she lived, her door was always unlocked, she treated everyone as though she was somehow related to them, was absolutely incapable of making a dinner that fed fewer than 12 people, and she resolutely served Folgers instant coffee at her table, despite her children’s efforts to the contrary in the land of artisan roast coffees.

Mom studied chemistry at Ohio State (go, Buckeyes) where she met and married our dad, Kevin M. Ryan. Dad went off to Vietnam, while she taught at Immaculate Conception grade school in Columbus. When Dad came home, they packed up and moved to their new station in Heidelberg, DDR, then West Point, then Ft. Lewis, Washington.

Finally they landed in Olympia, and that was where she stayed for almost 50 years. She threw herself into the community by volunteering with Girl Scouts, community gardens and the Thurston County Fair. She donated regularly to the local Salvation Army and to United Gospel Mission. And she earned a big leaf on the tree at Bloodworks Northwest for being a regular and generous blood donor for decades. She proudly boasted of her veins (vain about her veins?) stating, “My veins are like hoses; let’s use them for good.” Most of Mom’s working

Most of Mom’s working life was in the timber industry, except the tree-cutting part—Hoffert’s Christmas trees, IFA Nurseries and Washington Department of Revenue: Forest Tax. She had solid stints managing and serving on the board of Olympia Farmers’ Market, as well as teaching adult English as second language classes in the evenings. With her gift of gab, she could sell trees to lumberjacks and bread to bakers. She couldn’t leave most anywhere without collecting a handful of friends and stories as souvenirs.

There is no doubt that Mom was proudest of her welcoming home and the characters who gathered around her kitchen table. People were always dropping in from near and far: staying for coffee, changing a baby’s clothes or warming up by the wood stove. Her house was the house where kids hung out after school or gathered on weekends. Her lively, open-door Christmas parties—where the homemade Chex Mix was piled high and the Gluhwine flowed freely—were the highlight of the year. But any day you would be welcomed in: “Have a seat, coffee or tea, do you need a blankie?”

Our mom wasn’t only ours. She was a second mom to many. She was part of the core group of moms at St. Michael’s School for about a dozen years and would step up to volunteer for about anything. Stray kids, pets, cars, musical instruments, gadgets, treasures and “quality junque” were all part of everyday life at her house. As kids, we never felt lonely or bored. She did her best for us, her friends, church, coworkers, employers and community. She was not a flashy woman. She was a good sport. And she will be missed.

Ann was preceded in death by her mother and father, Robert and Margaret (Golbinec) Cameron, and her brother, Bruce Cameron. The immediate family she left behind is small: her daughters, Eileen and Margaret; son-in-law, Matt; her grandson, Myles, and Bruce’s two daughters, Megan and Caitlin. Her larger family-of-the-heart will miss Ann just as much: Semans, Sumners, Loomises, Bowermans, Charters, Bordens, Smiths-Woodlings, Conklins, Dalys, Schilters, Sheridans, Morris-McGees, Taylors, Schreiners, Elliotts, Coopers, Etzkorns and McClymonds. (We’ve probably left somebody off the list and we’re sorry if your name temporarily slipped our minds. She probably liked you best anyway.)

We’ll end with the words that followed us out the door at the end of every visit: “Write if you get work; avoid all evil; obey the laws of the pack.”

There will be a celebration of Ann’s life on Friday, June 18. Please contact her family for more information. Her number is still the same.

In lieu of flowers, you might consider making a donation to Olympia’s Union Gospel Mission or donate a pint of blood, if you’re able.