- Date Of Birth: September 25, 1919
- Date Of Death: September 13, 2014
- State: Maine
Elizabeth (Liz) Holmquist Ryan passed away on the morning of September 13, 2014 at Cove’s Edge Nursing Facility in Damariscotta, ME. Born on September 25, 1919 in Forest Lake Minnesota, she was the first child of Olive Seager and Frederick Holmquist. She grew up on a small dairy farm without electricity or indoor plumbing. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in social work, she married John R. Ryan in Minneapolis, MN On December 27, 1941. Most of her adult life was lived in Wilmington, DE. She moved to Damariscotta, ME in 2009 to be near daughter Kathleen. While in high school, Mrs. Ryan was editor of the school newspaper and also successfully petitioned the school board to allow girls to use the gym, precursors of her adult life as a tireless volunteer, political activist, and passionate advocate for social justice. Mrs. Ryan was a Girl Scout Leader, a substitute teacher/librarian in the Wilmington schools (AAUW training under Muriel Crosby), a library volunteer at River Road School, and a tutor at West Presbyterian Church. In 1972, Mrs. Ryan became president of the Delaware League of Women Voters (LWV) during the uproar over school desegregation and was an effective force in ensuring a peaceful transition. She edited the LWV book Delaware Government, published in 1976 and revised in 1981, 1985, and 1999. This was the first low-cost, widely circulated book on Delaware government available to schools. She remained active in the LWV for more than 30 years, conducting lobbying workshops and speaking to school and community groups about the importance of voting and the political process. As a strong supporter of women’s participation in government, she lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment, gun control and Delaware’s bottle bill. She was a poll watcher and registered voters. In 1980, she was the state manager of John Anderson’s campaign for the Presidency. Mrs. Ryan was responsible for promoting criminal justice as a concern within the LWV, influenced their efforts to bring about greater control over handguns, and developed the League’s “court-watching program”. From 1981 to 1983, she was president of the Delaware Council on Crime and Justice, which assisted the Bureau of Juvenile Corrections in developing a treatment and classification system, training staff, and implementing the new system. She also served on the Delaware Sentencing Reform Commission, and the Governor’s Advisory Board on Corrections. In addition, Mrs. Ryan worked directly with prisoners at the Women’s Correctional Institution in Claymont, DE, and with boys at Ferris School. Mrs. Ryan was a strong proponent for women’s right to choose and served in leadership positions with the Delaware Pro-Choice Medical Fund and Planned Parenthood. She also held leadership positions in many other community organizations, including the American Association of University Women, Head Start, the Delaware Energy Conservation Committee, Common Cause, Delaware Friends of Bikecology, and the League of American Wheelmen. She volunteered with Clothes Closet and Adopt-a-family, the Rockwood Ice Cream Social and Wilmington Flower Market.
