Catherine Evertz Ryan

Catherine Evertz Ryan passed away peacefully at her home in Laramie on February 1, 2023.

She was born to Nicholas Evertz and Otilla Kobe Evertz on January 11, 1925, in Northeast Minneapolis where she was raised with four brothers, Edward, Joseph, Donald and Max.

Catherine attended the University of Minnesota and graduated from the Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Chemistry degree and later from Arts and Sciences with a Masters degree in Physical Chemistry.

After graduating, her first job was teaching Analytical and Physical Chemistry laboratories to students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Catherine married Victor Ryan, a graduate student from Wyoming in 1950.

While Victor was finishing his PhD at the University of Minnesota, she worked for the Munsingwear Corporation in their research laboratory and then in the rubber research laboratory at the University of Minnesota.

After her husband took his finals, they drove to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where Victor worked for the Dow Chemical Company doing nuclear research.

Their first child, Victoria, was born in Oak Ridge.

After two years, Victor wanted to go west to be nearer to his home ranch by Saratoga, Wyoming. After learning that nuclear research was going on at Rocky Flats, Colorado, the family moved west and resided in Boulder, Colorado for 51/2 years. During that time, the family added two boys, Gregory and David.

In 1959, Victor accepted a job teaching chemistry at the University of Wyoming. The family moved to Laramie, where another son, Phillip, was born.

When Phillip started school in first grade, Catherine took a half-time job working for the brand­ new computer center. After two years she began writing programs and downloading data for the department of Atmospheric Science, where she worked for five years.

At that time, she became a computer analyst for different departments, Atmospheric Physics, the computer center, the Institute for Policy Research in the business school and finished up back at the computer center, as she retired.

When Catherine was seven-years-old, she started taking piano lessons and violin lessons when she turned ten. She played in the grade school and high school orchestras. After her marriage, she continued learning instruments and played the cello in orchestras in Oak Ridge, Boulder and the University of Wyoming, where she was a member of the orchestra for more than 20 years.

After retirement, Catherine became active in several organizations: PEO, League of Women Voters, Presbyterian Women, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and NAMI-Laramie.

She enjoyed the advantages of living in a university town, traveling and being with her many friends in Laramie.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Victor and son, Phillip, her brothers Edward, Joseph and Donald.

She is survived by her daughter Vicky Smith (Lath), and her sons, Gregory (Stephanie) and David (Kaleena), five grandsons and one great-granddaughter, as well as her brother Max and many nieces and nephews.

Memorial services will be announced at a later date. Visit. http://www.montgomerystryker.com to send condolences or to sign the online guestbook.