Margarete F.

Ryan

Margarete “Gretchen” Ryan (née Lützner) would have loved AI. She embraced the novel and the innovative—from camcorders (before they were common) to personal websites to unconventional inventions sold on late night television. She was in love with the world, and with creating and investigating beauty. She painted, made ceramics, drew, produced her own paper, salvaged scraps for avant-garde sculptures. She threw amazing parties and was always up for a good costume, even dressing as Lady Gaga in her bubble dress at nearly 80 years old. Even as her memory faded in her last years, she still loved a good polka. She turned the world into art. Gretchen was born in Niederschöna, Germany on November 2, 1929, the oldest daughter of a roofer. During her childhood, she traveled back and forth between Berlin and Niederschöna, and was present in Saxony during the Soviet advance into Germany, an event which left a lasting impression for the rest of her life. Still, she did not let the horrors and deprivations of war keep her from her lifelong effort to put beauty in the world. She went to the west before the building of the Berlin Wall, which separated her family for 28 years. In Berlin, she met and married an American military man, who took her and their six children to live all around the world. At Tempelhof AFB, she became Air Force Wife of the Year, and was nominated for Military Wife of the Year. At every location, she left a trail of awards, achievements, and grateful students for her art, teaching, and service work. After retirement, the family settled in Sacramento, where Gretchen became an integral part of the local art community, including showing at a number of galleries, teaching at American River College, and acting as president of the Northern California Art Association. She is predeceased by her beloved husband of over 50 years, Raymond Ryan (1926-2006) and survived by 6 children, 13 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. She is already missed.Celebration of Life: November 17, 2026, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Sierra View Funeral Home, 6201 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael, CA 95608.