Claudia Jean Ryan, 91, passed away on April 18, 2019, and she is having a happy reunion surrounded by her loved ones there in heaven. Claudia Jean McKnight was born in Houston on March 5, 1928 to Gertrude Muckleroy and Claude Marion McKnight, originally from Nacogdoches, Texas. She attended Reagan High School, and married fellow Reagan Bulldog, Britton Ryan Jr. They were married 65 years. Claudia worked at Sakowitz department store for 16 years, finishing her career as an assistant buyer. After 16 years of marriage, she had one child, a daughter, Cindy. Claudia was active throughout her entire life, doing crafts and sharing art. She helped create a remarkable neighbor community on Kury Lane in Timbergrove in the 50 years she lived there, and did it again in her next neighborhood in Wortham. Claudia and Brit loved to travel with family, family friends, and work colleagues. They especially loved traveling to California, frequenting San Francisco, Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Fallen Leaf Lake, Ragged Point, Pismo Beach, Yosemite, Los Angeles,and San Diego. They also spent anniversaries in Mendocino, but their favorite vacation spot was Laguna Beach. In fact, Claudia spent a week there this past March, shopping for her great-granddaughters, watching the waves, and eating the great food cooked including a margarita made from Brit’s famous recipe. She is survived by her daughter, Cindy and husband Ron Held; and her granddaughters, Layne and husband Marco Santoro, and their daughter, Mia, granddaughter Kylie and husband Andrew Mitchell, and their daughter Joanna, and granddaughter Quinn and husband Derek Moy. She is also survived by her nephew, Claude McKnight and wife, Judy, and their three daughters and families, and her niece, Jean. She was preceded in death by her husband, Britton Ryan Jr., her brother, Foster McKnight, her nephew, Donald McKnight. Claudia was an amazing person; a caring soul, who touched many people with both her honesty and her love of life. She will be missed by friends, neighbors, and family.
