William Carl Ryan

May 6, 1945-August 9, 2014

Carl "Rusty" Ryan died August 9, 2014 after a long, hard fought battle with the rare disease langerhans cell histiocytosis.

He was born in San Bernardino, California but was raised in Butte, Montana. It was while attending Butte High that he met and fell in love with Linda O'Neil. In 1968 he married Linda, and they made their life in Odessa, Washington.

Carl was preceded in death by his wife, his father William "Red" Ryan and his nephew Jason.

Many family members who miss him very much survive Carl. Among these are his mother Agnes and his brother Rick (Danni) Ryan. He is also survived by five grandchildren and three children: Bill and Lorain Ryan of Rathdrum, Id., Mike Ryan of Spokane, and Chris and John Schumacher of Orting, WA.

Carl was passionate about education and worked as a high school math teacher in Odessa for over 30 years.

One of his joys in life was sharing his love for sports with his family and the youth of the area. He was the high school baseball coach at Odessa High School, and also coached various other sports during his time there. He was also a well-known football and basketball official in the state of Washington.

His love of sports began during his years in Montana where he grew up playing baseball and working for his families sporting good store, Spillum's. He is a member of the Butte, Montana and Western Montana sport's hall of fame. He played various sports for Montana Tech, and was a member of the Western Montana College baseball team.

Along with serving the students of Odessa, Carl was also very passionate about the town. During his time in Odessa he served on the city council and was elected mayor. While holding these positions he was instrumental in securing funding and designing the Odessa City Pool.

Carl's personal passions included traveling, the Chicago Cubs and Bears, crossword puzzles, his Thursday night poker games, golf and his grandkids. He was a role model and loving grandfather to Luke, Katy, Ben, Cameron and Flynn and he was always at his happiest around them.

Memorial Services will be held on Friday, August 15, 2014 at 11:00 am at Heritage Church in Odessa, Washington with Pastor Jon Hayashi officiating.

Memorials can be made to Friends of the Pool, Box 691, Odessa, WA 99159; the Histiocytosis Association (histio.org) or any other Odessa organization.

Please sign the online guestbook for the family at www.stratefuneralhome.com.

Strate Funeral Home in Davenport, Wa. is caring for the family.