Dona May Ryan

A loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Dona May Ryan passed away at the age of 92 years on December 3, 2024. Born on February 19, 1932, in Canton, OH, to Richard and Cora (Nicholsen) Schrecongost, Dona later attended Ball State University where she earned a teaching degree and met her future husband, Billy Ray Ryan, who would share her life until his passing in 2010. Following their nuptials, Dona and Bill lived a few years in Illinois before moving to Boone, IA, where they raised four children: Kathy, Terry, Bob, and Mary. Following retirement, the couple spent several years in Nevada, IA, before joining Terry and Mary and their families in Casper, WY.

Dona served as a steady source of inspiration to her family. She always put others’ needs or wishes before her own and always demonstrated kindness, compassion, generosity, and humility. When life presented difficult challenges, Dona’s determination and perseverance served as an additional source of inspiration.

Along with these admirable qualities, Dona will be remembered for her sharp wit, remarkable memory, and fierce independence. She will also be remembered for her superb cooking, her knack for spoiling any child, her research into family history, and her adventurous spirit. The wealth of beautiful memories featuring Dona, the grandest of matriarchs, will continue to uplift her family. 

As Dona joins her husband, Bill, her children, Robert Ryan and Kathleen Ryan Millard, her sister, Ginny,   and others on the other side, she leaves behind her brother, Kenny Schrecongost; her daughter, Terry Rasmussen, and friend, Ron Rasmussen; her daughter, Mary Oliver and husband, Jim Oliver; her grandson, Ryan Rasmussen; her granddaughter, Jessica Ferguson, and husband, Tony Ferguson; her granddaughter, Sydney Oliver; her grandson, Daniel Weber; her grandson, Adam Lee, and wife, Zhen Lee; and her great-grandchildren, Riley and Isaiah Ferguson and Addi, Ella, Ian, and Olin Lee.

At Dona’s request, no service is planned. Instead, the immediate family will soon gather to honor and celebrate our beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. 

 Thanks to the human heart by which we live,

Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, its fears,

To me, the meanest flower that blows can give

Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears. 

Wm. Wordsworth, “Ode”