Donald Arthur Ryan

Don was born in Spokane, WA to Julius and Dorothy Ryan, both of whom preceded him in death. He was proudly raised in Hillyard, went to Arlington Grade School and graduated from John Rogers High School in 1954. After graduating, he joined the U.S. Army and while on assignment in Germany, he met and married the mother of his children, Elsa Koehnlein. They had two children together: a daughter, Sabrina, and a son, Shawn, both of whom he was always extremely proud of and loved.

After honorably serving in the Army for over 12 years, Don spent several years as an insurance agent here in Washington and on Guam. He later enlisted in the Guam Air National Guard, where he completed 8 more years of service to our country and retired as a Senior Master Sergeant. In 2000, after being away for over 27 years, he returned home to Spokane and renewed old friendships and made new ones. However, the relationship he was most proud of and the one that made him the happiest was the revival of an old romance with Mildred "Miss Milli" McGetrick, whom he met on a blind date while on leave from the Army in 1958. They were each other's very "signifcant other" and she was with him until the end.

For many years Don could be heard saying, "NO, I DON'T DYE MY HAIR!" in response to accusations, insinuations and assumptions that he did. His hearty laugh, wonderful smile and great sense of humor will be missed not only by his friends and family, but also by the employees of the local restaurants that he and Miss Milli frequented. They loved the the staff and the staff loved them.

Don is survived by his dearly loved Milli McGetrick; his children, daughter Sabrina, and son, Shawn (Buffy); grandchildren, Josh (Amber) Ryan, Katie (Emma) Marticke, Ashleigh Carroll, Chase (Rachel) Ryan, Kelsey (Jack) Ryan; great grandchildren, Maylin, Lillian, Asher, Norah, Owen, and Mila; his brother and best friend, Tom Ryan and his son, Kenny, and his daughter, Kelley. He is also survived by many other loving friends and family, most notably, Beau (Leslie) Paisley and Sam (Ann) McGetrick.

A service honoring Don's life will be held on Friday, August 27th at 11am at Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home, located at 1306 N. Pines Rd. Spokane Valley, WA 99206