OBERLIN, OH — Mary Beth Hartson Ryan McCalla passed away peacefully May 15 after celebrating her 98th birthday at her home in Oberlin (OH), where she grew up, went to college and returned in retirement (Kendal at Oberlin).
Mary was born February 4, 1922 in Grinnell, Iowa, the youngest of three children of Louis Dunton Hartson and Mary Reed Hartson. When her father joined the Oberlin College faculty she moved to Oberlin, attended Oberlin College and earned a “Certificate in Business” from Radcliffe College. In those days young women could not enroll in the Harvard Business School, but because so many men were serving in the military, Harvard “B” school professors crossed the river and taught the “girls.”
In WWII she joined the American Red Cross in Italy and while managing the Red Cross Club in Venice, met both her first and second husbands. In 1946 she married Robert A. “Bob” Ryan, a first lieutenant in the US Army.
As an army wife Mary lived in Italy, Germany, Washington, DC, Columbus, GA, Towson, MD and on the campus of West Point Military Academy. The family then lived in NY’s Adirondack Mountains where Mary learned to expect bears in the meadow and live with spring floods and winter nights when the temperature dropped to 40 degrees below zero. She revived skiing skills learned in 1933 Germany when her family spent a sabbatical year in Vienna. In addition to teaching her children to ski she was a gardener, a knitter, a Scout leader and earned a MAT in Education. She taught in Wells, NY Middletown, NJ, Clarkson, ON (Canada) and Sarasota, FL and spent one spring sailing a 1930’s vintage wooden sloop down the Intracoastal Waterway
After her divorce Mary had a fairy tale romance and second marriage. Donald McCalla, who had fallen in love with Mary in 1946 in Venice, but kept his love to himself for many years, found Mary after he himself was widowed. In 1976 they married and moved to Sidney, OH, where she resided for 24 years until Don’s death. In Sidney Mary helped found a chapter of Planned Parenthood, which cost her any opportunities to continue teaching, but brought her great satisfaction. Mary was active in the American Association of University Women and competed successfully as a swimmer in the Senior Olympics
While at Kendal Mary was active with the RAF shop and enjoyed biking around the campus and town. Even as her memory began to fail, she spent hours completing jigsaw puzzles and remained a competitive bridge player, posting many winning scores, most often when partnered with niece Kathy.
Mary and Robert had 3 children, all of whom survive: Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Ryan Cole (Charles) of Thetford, VT, Robert A. “Bob” Ryan (Joan Mariani) of Berwick, ME, Emily Alice “Mimi” Ryan (Gus Zeising) of Burlington, VT. She is also survived by grandchildren, Noah (Meredith) of Portland, OR, Ethan (Suzanne) of Lebanon, NH, Audrey (Ricky) of Bristol, VT, Silas (Esther) of Oakland, CA, Thomas and Adrian of Rockport, ME, Jonas (Madeline) of Thetford, VT and great-grandchildren, Lindsey, Augustus, Eben, Sabine, Liam and Mikko. She is also survived by three nieces, including Kathy Caldwell who has been her neighbor and friend at Kendal. If there were one quote she might want to make certain we all kept in mind it would probably be, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
The family will hold a private memorial and a memorial on-line. Once travel is possible her ashes will be interred with those of both husbands in Oberlin. If you wish to make a gift in her memory, please consider Planned Parenthood.