Dorothy A. Ryan's Obituary
Dorothy Ann Ryan, 82, passed away January 17, 2026, at Cornerstone Hospice in Lady Lake, Florida.
Funeral Services will be at 12:00 (noon), Saturday, January 31, 2026, at Snell-Zornig Funeral Homes & Crematory. Burial will be in the Oakland Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Lynn Sander, Danny Blinkinsop, Ashlyn Ryan, Alyssa Ryan, Jordan Phillips, and Kevin O'Neill. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until the service time Saturday morning at that funeral home. Snell-Zornig Funeral Homes & Crematory is honored to serve the Ryan family.
Dorothy was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on October 22, 1943, the daughter of John B. Gehl and Lula M. (Parrott) Gehl. Dorothy married Thomas F. Ryan, Jr. at Sacred Heart Church in Clinton, Iowa, on February 11, 1961. Dorothy and Tom loved to travel together and drove through all 50 states and Canada.
Dorothy worked in the Clinton Community School District for 29 years before retiring in 2023. She also worked as a nurse’s aide at Harbor Crest Nursing Home in Fulton, Illinois, and the Alverno Nursing Home in Clinton, Iowa. Dorothy and Tom moved from Clinton in 2023 to The Villages, Florida, to spend time with their daughter and enjoy the Florida sun.
Dorothy very much enjoyed genealogy and spent many years putting together family trees. She could answer just about any question relating to births, deaths, and families in and around the Clinton area. Dorothy delighted in working as a monitor on the school bus, talking with and taking care of all of the kids. She took great pride in running a well behaved bus. Above all, she loved her family and enjoyed spending time with, hearing stories and talking about her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren very much. She will be dearly missed by all.
Dorothy is survived by her daughter: Elizabeth (Karen) Ryan-Malinowski of The Villages, Florida; two sons: Eric (Jen) Ryan of Clinton and John Ryan of Clinton; three granddaughters: Abbie (Jason) Sprague of Manassas, Virginia; Ashlyn Ryan of Clinton; Alyssa (Kevin O’Neill) Ryan of Davenport; four grandsons: Josh Ryan of Davenport, Auston Ryan of Louisville, Kentucky;Jordan (Carlie) Phillips of Urbandale; Alex Ryan of Louisville, Kentucky; nine great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Francis Ryan, Jr., her parents, John B. Gehl and Lula M. Gehl; her brothers: Donald Gehl, Jack Gehl, Bob Gehl, sister Mary Blinkinsop, daughters: Kelly Ann Liston and Jennifer Lynn Thompson; and grandson Christopher Lucke.
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