Happy Birthday Delores Ryan!
By Josh Bootsma
LANSING, Ill. (February 12, 2022) – Milestone birthdays are a natural time to remember. For Delores Ryan, the celebration of her 90th year of life — which occurs on February 13 this year — is a time to think back on decades of life lived in Lansing.
Delores and her late husband Robert moved to Lansing in the 1950s. She moved with her son to Wisconsin in 2013. During the better half of a century that she lived in Lansing, Delores was involved in many ways in the local community. A list of her involvement, as compiled by her son Bob, includes:
- President of the Lansing Women’s Democratic Club
- Former chair of the Lansing March of Dimes
- One of the founders of the TF South Booster Club
- Thornton Township Trustee – 9 years as trustee
- “Delores was responsible for getting public funds into the Bank of Lansing noting that the bank was a readily [available] source of college loans to the local kids,” her son said.
- “Dolores also was responsible for getting revenue sharing funds that provided the initial funding of the lights at the Landing Baseball complex. She threw out the first ball,” Bob said.
- Member of the American Legion Post 697 Auxiliary
- Cub Scout Den Mother
- Democratic precinct 153 captain
- Chaperone for Coolidge class trips, also playground supervisor for the school
- Provided free notary services
- Regular circulator of petitions
Delores and her husband Robert owned Ryan’s Communications in Lansing, and also owned Ryan’s Superette, a grocery store near Jackson Street and Wentworth Avenue.
“My mother is always reminiscing about the people and good old times in Lansing. Â She misses her routine meet-and-greets during her weekday walks along Ridge Road,” Bob said. “My mother had a long and devoted history to Lansing. She frequently recalls the old businesses.”
A fan of The Lansing Journal newspaper decades ago when it was located on William Street, Delores now takes in Lansing Journal news through the eyes of her son, who reads her the news she’s most interested in. She now lives in Florida.
To a former stalwart of the Lansing community, and a loyal reader of The Lansing Journal — Happy 90th Birthday from The Lansing Journal team!
