Irene Eleanor Ryder

Irene Ryder, 88, of Great Falls, passed away on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. Irene was born on a small farm outside Coral City (Whitehall), Wisconsin to Harry and Mary (Scott) Phillipson on May 15, 1929. Irene’s family moved from Coral City, WI to Galesville, WI when Irene was 6 years old, then to Milwaukee, WI after she completed the 6th grade. Her parents divorced and Irene’s mother, Mary married Norman Hunter and they moved from Milwaukee to Trempealeau, WI after the 9th grade. In 1946 she was prom queen at Trempealeau High School and was school choir soloist for two years prior to graduating in 1947. She married Cal Ryder in 1950 after a two year courtship. During this courtship they developed lifelong interests in outdoor activities—bird watching, hiking, fishing, and photography along the upper Mississippi River and surrounding bluff country. For Irene the natural world was always a fascination and awesome beauty to be understood, enjoyed and held sacred to all. Her interests, talents and abilities continued to expand to allow a very complete life experience including becoming an accomplished seamstress constructing most of her own proper attire as a secretary in formal offices of large businesses and the US Army COE in St. Paul, MN, ND and Montana. Her love of the natural world was not inhibited or dulled by society and the formal business world. Rather, it expanded to fishing, hiking, backpacking trips, cross-country skiing, horse trips in the mountains and prairies from Denali National Park through the Canadian provinces to the mountains of Costa Rica where she made a valiant effort with a failing heart. All through life she continued to develop her domestic talents of homemaking: home decorating, cooking, baking and greatly enjoyed entertaining small groups with large meals, including personal unique recipes of desserts. Much of the food was provided by her first love of the outdoors, which was gardening to enjoy directly from the garden and also to preserve for later use. Irene was enthralled by the seemingly magical production of food by nature. Every year she would sit in front of her gardens and marvel at the profusion of brilliant colors of her flowers and the abundant production of food, all from the tiny seeds she placed in the ground in early summer. The other talents of sketching, sculpting, painting, endless knitting and reading were always tugging at her. And travel—after two weeks at home, the command “Let’s get out of here and go someplace.” Though not loquacious or chatty, she enjoyed quiet conversation and continued to expand her sphere of outdoor activities. This is a tiny glimpse of the total Irene whose life encompassed the world she lived in: she was the one who saw the images, she was the birder, she knew the bird songs, she was the fisher person who caught the biggest fish, she was the hunter but not to kill, she knew the geology, she named the plants, she excelled in the natural and domestic world and her stars that she enjoyed in the night sky continue to shine forever. Irene is survived by her husband of 67 years, Cal Ryder, of Great Falls; sister Marianne Sacia of Galesville, WI; nephews Mark and Tracy Sacia and Eric Phillipson; nieces Cheryl Phillipson, Beth Douglas and Sylvia Chassner; and several great-nieces and great-nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; sister Claire Wukawitz; brother Col. Paul Phillipson; and step-brother Norman (Sonny) Hunter. A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later time. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Irene’s name may be made to the Upper Missouri Breaks Audubon Society, PO Box 2362, Great Falls, MT 59403 Condolences for the family may be posted at www.SchniderFuneralHome.com.