Laurette Ryan

Laurette Ryan, 98, of Bozeman passed away on November 29, 2015. She was born on February 8, 1917 in Waterloo, New York to Daniel and Laura (Berry) Reilly.

A life-long student and world traveler always ready for a conversation, Laurette danced, socialized, and enjoyed many parties throughout her long life.

Laurette attended school in Waterloo, graduating high school with a College entrance diploma. She later attended the Ontario Business Institute in Geneva, New York for one year, graduating with a secretarial diploma in 1935. After graduation she worked for a year from 9am until 5pm as a volunteer secretary for the Boy Scouts of America regional office in Geneva in order to gain experience. In 1936 she accepted a position as a secretary to the Director of Admissions at Hobart College, a tiny all-male college in Geneva. She was promoted to secretary for the Dean and then the President of the college who went on to become the Provost. While working at Hobart, she attended classes during lunch but never had enough time to pursue a degree. She left Hobart after 13 years and went to work for a year as secretary to the Dean of Adult Education at the University of Florida in Coral Gables. She then took a position as executive secretary to the General Manager of the Lake Placid Club in Lake Placid, New York.

Laurette married Lt. Cmdr. Emmett J. Ryan USNR, at the Atsugi, Japan, Naval Air Station where he was a Naval Pilot and she held a secretarial position in the Army. Their only child, Emmett Jerome Ryan, Jr. was born while they were stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Emmett retired from the Navy in 1969 and in 1973 they moved to Bozeman after having spent seven years in Spain.

Beginning in 1938, Laurette had taken classes at William Smith College in Geneva, New York, and Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas where Emmett had been stationed. In 1974 she took her first class as a transfer student at Montana State University in General Studies and then in the Department of Education, Health and Human Development which became School of Home Economics where she had an emphasis in Child Development/Family Life Sciences. In 1984 she initiated a course called "Let's Talk" which paired an American student with a student from another country and allowed both to learn about their respective cultures. She said that it was the most challenging and rewarding project that she had ever taken on. In 1985 she was awarded the A.L. Strand Award which is awarded to the non-traditional student who has shown concern for people throughout campus or community service and scholastic achievement. In 1990 she was awarded a B.S. Degree in Home Economics. As of 1990, she was the oldest graduate of Montana State University.

She was a member of Phi Upsilon Omicron (a Home Economics National Honor Society) and co-chaired the Montana Friendship Exchange between Montana and Korea in Bozeman in the late 1970's. A long-time member of the Resurrection Parish community, Laurette started the Resurrection Parish Friday lunch program for students.

Laurette was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and her sister Gertrude R. Howard. She is survived by her son; Emmett Jerome (Mayumi) Ryan, Jr. who is a Foreign Service Officer in Seoul, South Korea, her granddaughter Alysa and several nieces and nephews.

Laurette asked that memorial contributions be made to the Friday Lunch Program at Resurrection Parish, 1725 s. 11th Ave., Bozeman, MT 59715.

A Funeral Mass will be at 2:00 P.M., on Friday, December 4, 2015 at Resurrection Parish in Bozeman followed by interment in Sunset Hills Cemetery.