Twila June Ryan

Twila June Ryan, 90, of Sanger, Texas, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2024, with her children at her side. Her passing followed a brief hospital stay in Denton, Texas.

 Twila was born in the Thomas, Oklahoma, area on December 3, 1933, to Emory and Thelma Beckley Ballew. She and her family were a part of the railroad community of Nobscot; she attended Oakwood and Thomas Public Schools along with her five siblings. As a young girl, she enjoyed playing basketball through her junior high school years. It was in Thomas that she met William Joseph Ryan, and they married on June 23, 1951.

 As a military couple, they lived in Biloxi, Mississippi; Wichita Falls, Texas; Enid, Oklahoma; and Thomas, Oklahoma; before settling in Okeene, Oklahoma, in 1962. It was there that the couple raised their three children: Sam, Don, and Terry. Her favorite activity as a mom was to don her Okeene Whippet gear and drive all over the state to watch the boys in their sporting events. She even got into the action some herself in an adult softball league which she really enjoyed. Joe would often tease about her “wash woman’s” swing at bat. She attended the First Baptist Church in Okeene and Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid. After Joe passed in 1989, she remained in the Okeene community until 2003 when she retired and relocated to Keller, Texas. There she became a part of the Evergreen apartment community and made many dear friends there. She worshipped at the First Baptist Church in Keller and remained a church member until her death. Some of her favorite things to do were play bingo and cards with her friends, knit and crochet, work jigsaw puzzles, and watch her grandchildren in their sporting events and other activities. She was quite a “puzzler” and even remarked once that a puzzle wasn’t worth working if it didn’t have at least 1,000 pieces! One of her recent accomplishments was to finish a 2,000 piece puzzle, for which Terry had to cut a new tabletop to accommodate the size of the puzzle. Of all her activities, she most loved being a grandma and gigi.

 Over the years, she worked for Siemens Drug, Woolsworth, Pioneer Telephone, Amerigas, and Okeene Municipal Hospital.

 Twila is survived by two sons and their families: Sam Ryan and his wife Druanne of Sentinel, Oklahoma; Terry Ryan and his wife Jill of Sanger, Texas; daughter-in-law Cheryl Ryan of Mustang, Oklahoma; grandchildren Jeff Ryan and his wife Sara of Piedmont, Oklahoma; Starr Ryan of Port, Oklahoma; Kristin Price of Mustang, Oklahoma; Reed Ryan of North Platte, Nebraska; Rana Lewallen and her husband Caleb of Sanger, Texas; Rhett Ryan of Sanger, Texas; five great-grandchildren Trevor and Teagen Price; Garrett Ryan; Levi and Landry Lewallen; two nephews, Mark Ballew and Charles Edward Ballew; and two nieces, Diane Currington and Rhonda Ballew.

 She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe; son, Don; granddaughter, Barri Hope; her parents, Emory and Thelma; and her siblings Dewayne, Jeannie, Bob, Charles, and Richard.

 Funeral services will be Saturday, August 24, at 2 pm at the First Baptist Church in Keller, Texas. Burial will be Monday, August 26, at 11 am at Mound Valley Cemetery in Thomas, Oklahoma. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the senior adult ministry at FBC Keller. Thank you to everyone for lifting her up in prayer as she made her journey home to be with the Lord. She loved you all.