Obituary of Aurora "Ora" Ryan
Aurora (“Ora”) Ryan was an incredible person. She was a mother, wife, sister, cousin, friend, and caregiver as well as a bingo partner, gardener, bargain shopper, jewelry-maker, Saturday night card player, cottage industry pickle-maker, and much more. She lived through both good times and bad times. Ora was a person to “make do and mend” when needed, and she was also a person to congratulate other people’s success as well as appreciate any personal blessings. Through it all, she lived her life without ever wavering from her sense of duty, loyalty, reliability, honor, and dignity.
Ora was a quintessential example of the “silent generation,” since she was taught to respect old-time morals and to use these ethics as her “yardstick for life.” Ora adopted these qualities from having lived a modest upbringing. She was born in a tightly-knit farming community in the province of New Brunswick, Canada on 30 October 1928, the daughter of Joseph and Blanche O’Neil. She was one of eleven brothers and sisters. As was often the case during this time period, the daughter of the family took charge of younger siblings, and Ora stepped up to this duty at an early age, never shirking the responsibilities of this most important job. From this role, Ora learned the importance of helping out family, and she continued to live out her true calling as a mother figure. She cared for everyone she knew. Whether it was family, friend, neighbor, or friend-of-a-friend, Ora would step up quietly to the task to help out if someone was in need, whether they asked for her help or not. She just did what was necessary – no questions asked.
At the same time, Ora never denied herself of her own dreams and ambitions. At her age of 18, she ventured from home and moved to Sussex, New Brunswick, where she found work as housekeeper for the rectory of St. Francis Xavier Church. It was in Sussex that Ora met the love of her life, her future husband Walter Ryan. They were married on 20 February 1950 and subsequently started a family with their first son, Dana (a.k.a. Francis). Ora and Walter were always a team, and as a couple they decided to find a better life for their family, and so they made the decision to make that goal happen in the U.S. They settled in Augusta, Maine in 1952, following Walter’s job as an apprentice plumber. Ora and Walter had found their permanent home and became American citizens. They had two more children, Thomas (Tom) and Deborah (Debbey). Their family was complete, and Ora and Walter settled into raising their family. Ora focused her life on raising their three children, encouraging and sometimes pushing them to be upstanding and productive adults. At the same time, she was always a devoted and loving wife to Walter. Ora was very proud of her husband and her family, their love made her life complete.
Ora was supportive and stretched her means to accommodate her children’s interests. In her spare time, she worked several part-time evening jobs as a waitress to provide additional comforts. However, instead of solely buying then giving the extra treats or toys, she used the opportunity of having the extra funds to also instill the value of earned money. After a night of waitressing at the Hotel North, she counted her coins from her tips and then at home she would ask her children to count the money until they reached the “right” answer with a reward of a nickel. Oh, her children were excited counting the pennies, dimes, and quarters and cherishing the reward and a trip to the candy store – how times have changed.
Ever the interesting person she was, Ora had other sides to her. Peeling the onion even more, she showed an ambitious and entrepreneurial side from time to time. With Ora, though, she had to be giving at the same time as being a go-getter. It was Ora’s way to show appreciation for her reward from her efforts. Most people know that she was passionate about gardening and she enjoyed raising her prized tomatoes, lettuces, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, and other vegetables. She was always found puttering around the garden every morning, weeding and water, encouraging her children to begrudgingly help her, spend time together, and to learn a good life skill of “making do by growing your own.” Ora being Ora, she had another destiny for her veggies besides the dinner table. A few folks know that Ora also pickled her vegetables and sold them at the local stores, but fewer still know that she also donated jars of pickles to those who needed a hand. Ora tried her hand at a few other hobbies/careers. She had a go at hair styling, using her children as “guinea pigs,” but her talent did not flourish to become the next Vidal Sassoon. In her senior years, Ora also developed an interest in jewelry making and became quite good at it. She was very proud of her collection and always took the opportunity to show her prized items, but she never sold any of her pieces, preferring to keep them and pass them onto friends and family.
It must be mentioned that Ora was an excellent cook. Ora had a sensational specialty dish: baked stuffed lobster and fiddleheads, which became the Ryan Family meal for special occasions, but also for special requests. Kids, relatives, and visitors alike always praised her for making it while gobbling it down. Her children always looked forward to this dish because it was the best meal of the year. As her children grew older, they came to realize that Ora expressed her love for them through her food. Ora was also known for her “boiled dinner,” a kitchen sink meal prepared in a pressure cooker. Adults loved it, but her children hated it because of the pungent aroma that filled the house for days. From what people say, this dish tasted better than it smelled.
Having finished raising a family and a granddaughter in Augusta, Ora and Walter discussed how to spend the free time of their golden years. They decided to move to Leesburg, Florida in 1986 to enjoy their retirement life in warmth and comfort. They both enjoyed socializing with their new snow-bird neighbors, driving around in their golf cart, learning the skills of shuffle boarding, and most importantly, enjoying hosting family and visitors. It was in Florida that Ora’s passion turned to BINGO and her competitive side of her personality showed through. She had a BINGO persona that rivaled any other Floridian retiree; including the wardrobe, skills, style, not to mention the accouterments. Ora made full use of an extensive collection of hats, caps, jewelry, jackets, and shoes – all primarily in shades of pink and purple – that she could choose from. On every visit by relatives and friends, we were “invited” to BINGO night. It was always amazing how one person could track a 3x6 ft area covered with BINGO sheets, lucky charms, and dabbers. Her skill of hearing the numbers and scanning the cards were remarkable. In addition to her cards, Ora had an eye out for her guest. She was always guiding her partner by saying “2 more numbers, ….1 more number…” and then shout “BINGO” as she got caught up in her enthusiasm. I think that she learned this talent from playing cards with the family every Saturday night and making sure the children did not miss a trick. She also had to keep an eye on Walter who was known to try and “slip” one by, every now and then.
Ora was a remarkable woman and she had an impact on many people’s lives around her. Ora was a “mom” to everyone because she knew that she had to be so. It was in her DNA. Ora was born a country girl and carried that person with her throughout her life, never giving way to change but accepting progress.
Ora is survived by her sons; Dana “Francis” and Thomas Ryan; her daughter Debbey Ryan Tucker; four grandchildren: Amy, Rebecca, Niki, and Michelle; and four great-grandchildren: Jack, Brady, Charlie, and Emmett; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Ora Ryan passed away on 22 May 2018 at the age of 89. We will always miss her.
