Lura Lynn Lowe
| Lura Lynn Ryan | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Illinois | |
|
In role January 11, 1999 – January 13, 2003 |
|
| Governor | George Ryan |
| Preceded by | Brenda Edgar |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Blagojevich |
| Second Lady of Illinois | |
|
In role January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1991 |
|
| Governor | James R. Thompson |
| Preceded by | Sandra O'Neal |
| Succeeded by | Kathy Kustra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 5, 1934 Aroma Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 27, 2011 (aged 76) Kankakee, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | George Ryan |
| Children | 6 |
| Alma mater | Moser Business College Kankakee High School |
Lura Lynn Ryan (July 5, 1934 – June 27, 2011) was the First Lady of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. She was the wife of former Illinois Governor George Ryan.
Ryan was born Lura Lynn Lowe on July 5, 1934, in Aroma Park, Illinois to parents, Lawrence and Dorothea Lowe. Her father was the owner of a hybrid seed company, while her mother was a Kankakee County school trustee. Lowe was raised on a family farm near Aroma Park.
Lowe met her future husband, George Ryan, while both were students in a freshman English class at Kankakee High School. Lowe mulled becoming a nurse following high school, but decided against that career path. She received a degree from the former Moser Business College.
She married Ryan at the Asbury United Methodist Church in Kankakee, Illinois, on June 10, 1956 after dating for eight years. The couple had six children, including one group of triplets. Their first child, Nancy, was born in 1957; daughter, Lynda, was born in 1961; triplets, Jeanette, Joanne and Julie were born in 1962; and her youngest, George Jr., was born in 1964. None of her children entered politics.
Her husband, George, entered politics when he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1972, with Ryan becoming a political spouse while simultaneously raising six small children.
Ryan became the First Lady of Illinois on January 11, 1999. She sought to become an active Illinois First Lady similar to her predecessors, Jayne Thompson and Brenda Edgar. Ryan was considered particularly devoted to issues involving the arts, drug and alcohol abuse, organ donation, historic preservation and the recognition of Abraham Lincoln.
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