1937 – 2025

PORTLAND — Judith Paine Ryan, lately of The Cedars in Portland, and a longtime resident of Lovell, Maine, died on January 28, 2025.

Judy was an accomplished sportswoman who still holds basketball scoring records at her alma maters 70 years after she set them. Had the WNBA existed earlier, she would have been a top draft pick. Instead, she taught physical education, married young, then left teaching to raise
two children. She was a sought-after referee who maintained her national rating for 25 years, calling field hockey and basketball games throughout Massachusetts and Vermont.

A fisherman from the age of four, Judy knew the best holes in Cape Cod and along the coast of Maine. As a teen, she was up before dawn and back with a full hold in time to start work as a short order cook. At 75, she studied for and passed the lobsterman license test and trapped until she could no longer confidently balance on her boat. Judy used her energy and passion to persuade friends who never thought about fishing to join her and pull in their first bluefish, mackerel, or “stripah.”

Judy would commonly push people to try new things, and she was a catalyst for fun. She also loved to golf, lead groups into the woods, looked for wildflowers or edible plants, explored and taught about the inner workings of bogs, and hunted for amethyst. She regularly organized parties with badminton, cross-country skiing, Norwegian cookie making, or other atypical activities at the center. Every event was an occasion to bring people together for a shared good time. For people around her, adventures led to great stories often repeated and never forgotten. And that was her mission.

Judith Paine Martinson was born on the fourth of July 1937 and grew up in the Boston area. She graduated from Bridgewater State Teachers College in 1959 and married Edward Ryan in 1961. Judy and Ed lived in Suffield, Conn., Harvard, Mass., and Stowe, Vt., finally retiring to their beloved farmhouse in Lovell in 1990.

Always practical, she loved going to the dump and looking for ways to reuse things — like a giant chicken incubator that became a dog pool. Thank God she had a barn. People might be surprised to realize how much support she provided people in need. Most surprising may be the impact of Ed’s death in 2022. Judy kept her emotions private, but his passing left her heartbroken. The staff at The Cedars in Portland noted her strong nature and quick sense of humor, and her family is grateful for the loving care they provided.

Judy leaves Cullen, Keelia, and Camden Ryan and Beth Sellers of Portland, Martha Ryan and Neal Sorensen of San Jose, Calif., and Vayl Sorensen of Brookline, Mass. She also had 52 first cousins and several hundred more distant relatives throughout the U.S. and Norway.

A celebration of Judy’s life will be held at the Lovell United Church of Christ on June 14, 2025, at 11 a.m.

Please visit www.jonesrichandbarnes.com to view Judy’s tribute page and to sign her online guestbook.