GAYLE STRUTZ RYAN May 26, 1924-July 14, 2020 Gayle Strutz Ryan passed away peacefully at her daughter's home in Roseville, CA on July 14, 2020. She was 96. Gayle was born in Anchorage May 26, 1924, the third child of Louis and Aline Strutz. Along with her five siblings, she grew up at 916 P Street in Anchorage. As she would tell her children, she walked to school every day uphill through six-foot snow drifts, both ways! A highlight for Gayle and her sisters was traveling to other communities on the Alaska Railroad as members of the Anchorage High School girls' basketball team. She graduated from Anchorage High School in 1942. Gayle played the baritone and joined her father in the Anchorage City Band. During high school, she babysat and ushered at the Empress Theater, and then, the summer she was 16, she went to work at Emard's Cannery with many of her friends. That's where she met her future husband, James R. "Bud" Ryan from California and also 16. Gayle and Bud were married September 2, 1943 at All Saints Episcopal Church. PFC Ryan was stationed at Fort Richardson, and he and his bride lived in a little house near the Strutz family home. They welcomed their first child, Abigale, in 1945. The next year Gayle and her family joined her parents in traveling "Outside" in one of the first civilian cars allowed over the Alcan Highway. Gayle and Bud bought what the family always called The Rock House in Oroville, CA, and Mary Ann was born in 1947, followed by Timothy in 1951 and Joseph in 1953. Settling permanently in Oroville in 1955, Gayle focused on raising her children and contributing to the family's economic stability. She grew and canned fruits and vegetables, sewed clothes for herself and her children, raised chickens, and refurbished furniture and other "antiques" she found at the city dump and elsewhere. When her children were older, she became one of the "Jolly Junkers" and was a partner in Hollyhock House, an antiques shop, for several years. She was also engaged in the social and spiritual life of her community. Gayle volunteered at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, keeping the parish books for several years, teaching catechism classes, serving in the Altar Society, and assisting with the weekly bulletin. She received special recognition as a 70-year member of Beta Sigma Phi, a charitable organization. Gayle's creativity seemed to know no bounds as she took up and excelled at china painting (using her own kiln), tatting, knitting, crocheting, and other handiwork, such as using old and antique buttons to create framed works of art. A founding member of the Oroville Piecemakers Quilt Guild, she received statewide awards for her beautiful handmade quilts that were a highlight of quilt shows, and demonstrated an innovative flair in using quilting techniques in unusual ways. Gayle was predeceased by her parents, Louis and Aline Strutz, and siblings, Clella Fowler, JoAnn Nattress, Ermalee Hickel, and Lloyd Strutz. She is survived by her husband of nearly 77 years, James R. "Bud" Ryan; her children and their spouses, Abbe and Willie Hensley, Mary Ann and John Edwards, Tim Ryan, and Joe and Vicki Ryan; her brother Dick Strutz; and her brothers-in-law Pat Ryan and Paul Ryan. She found great pleasure in spending time with her 13 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Gayle faced challenges with strength and grace, and was loving, compassionate, and loyal to her family and friends. Her husband, children, and grandchildren thought she could do just about anything she put her mind to, and they could always rely on her support and understanding and her lively sense of fun! The family plans to have a celebration of life in the spring in California. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation to Sutter Care at Home, the hospice program that provided such loving support to Gayle and her family.www.suttercareathome.org/giving. Memorial messages and photos can be provided and viewed here: http://gayle-strutz-ryan.lastingmemories.com

Published in Chico Enterprise-Record on Jul. 26, 2020.