Sarah Judith DeRyan

Sarah Judith (Elizabeth) Conrad DeRyan, 92, of Spokane, Washington, daughter of Maxmilian Arthur Conrad, Jr., and Beatrice Biesanz Conrad, passed away on November 29, 2024. 

Sarah Judy was born in 1932 in Glendale, California, during her father’s high jump training for the Olympic tryouts in Riverside, California. Her departure from Glendale, at just a few weeks old, was by airplane as her father, an accomplished aviator, and mother, flew back to their hometown of Winona, Minnesota. She made the national newspapers as the first baby to fly across the country (from Glendale, California to Winona, Minnesota), in a two-passenger Ryan airplane.

During her early life, Sarah Judy grew up mostly in Winona and Edina, Minnesota. From 1948 through 1950, Sarah Judy and her family lived in Switzerland. She received a diploma in French (Le Diplôme de Langue Française) from Mon Séjour (Institut de Jeunes Filles) in Aigle, Switzerland. She then went on to volunteer at a refuge for orphaned children of WWII in a community called Nomadelfia in Italy.

Sarah Judy graduated from nursing school in 1956 at Children's Hospital in San Francisco, California. Sarah Judy was married to James Edwin DeRyan on May 18, 1957 (they were divorced in 1980). She worked as a nurse for several years before turning her attention to having and raising her own children. Later, she worked at the Kootenai County Courthouse in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, as a court clerk, and at the Spokane County Courthouse in Spokane, Washington, as a court clerk in Superior Court, until retirement. 

Sarah Judy was also a musician and spent many decades playing the musical instrument called a concertina. For years, she was known around Spokane, Washington, as the sweet, elderly woman busking as a street musician outside of Huckleberry’s market on the South Hill and in front of Auntie’s bookstore in downtown Spokane, playing her concertina just for the pure joy of it. She filled many hearts with the sound of her music. Many people would stop by her busking spot to listen to the music from her repertoire of over 300 songs. Many would chat nostalgically about the songs with her and tip her generously. 

Sarah Judy was the oldest of Beatrice and Max’s Conrad’s 10 children, and she and James DeRyan had nine children of their own.

She is survived by her children, Michael DeRyan, 64, Alexander DeRyan, 61, Patrick DeRyan, 60, Gregory DeRyan, 59, Ramona (Andy) DeRyan (Ingersoll), 58, Matthew DeRyan, 57, Juanita DeRyan, 56, and Rosalie (Brian) DeRyan, 53.

She is also survived by her grandchildren, Rachel DeRyan Lay, Shareen DeRyan, Zoya Miller, Valerie DeRyan, Antony DeRyan, Zachary DeRyan-Milliken, Autumn DeRyan-Milliken, and Samuel DeRyan-Milliken; and six great-grandchildren.

Sarah Judy is also survived by her sisters, Beatrice Conrad Heberer, Jane Conrad Kosco, Katherine Conrad Kersten, and Louise Christine Conrad; and her brother, Maximilian (Terry) Arthur Conrad III (Montagne). 

She was predeceased by her son Timothy Benedict DeRyan, her parents Max Conrad and Betty Biesanz Conrad, her sisters Molly Conrad Doyle and Kersten Anne Conrad. Her brothers Charles Nicholas Conrad and Francesco Giuseppe Conrad, and her grandson Derrick James DeRyan. 

There will be an inurnment service at Holy Cross Cemetery in the chapel in Spokane, Washington, on December 14, 2024, from 2 PM to 2:30 PM for anyone to attend.