Virginia Vonderheide Ryan - I

Virginia Vonderheide Ryan - The Early Years

I love this picture!  Once again Roy's gaze upon his bride is priceless! Roy was of German/Irish descent, but Virginia was of German descent.  For the second time in two generations there was a German/Irish union in our family.

In those days, it was common for the bride and groom to pose for a formal portrait.  I love Grandma and Grandpa's picture.  The witnesses to the wedding were the brother of the bride, Val, and the sister of the groom, Florence.

Before Virginia was married, she worked as a "milliner."  A milliner is someone who makes hats. Given this history, I assume that Grandma made the two hats in this picture.  How beautiful!  Her ability to sew and create is something that somehow did not find its way to me, despite having women who loved to sew from both sides of my family.

As mentioned earlier, the "Ryans" purchased what would become the family home when Aunt Evelyn was three years old.  Pictured below is a proud woman behind the wheel of the family car.  The second picture has Florence, Virginia and Evelyn on the running board.  I remember Grandma saying that when she started driving you did not have to have a driver's license.  I love the confidence she seems to display in these pictures.  I've always said that I am descended from a line of strong women.

I don't have a lot of pictures of Grandma in her younger years, but here is another one of my favorites.  Virginia is the one on the left.  Aunt Evelyn is fairly certain that the woman pictured on the right is Roy's sister, Florence.

The pictures seem to be representative of a beautiful family.  But one thing was missing -- she had yet to have a son.  It wouldn't be long before James August Ryan was born, making the family complete. I'm assuming that Jim was named after both of his grandfathers -- James Hugh Ryan and August Henry Vonderheide.