Jean H. Ryden

Was born December 26, 1919 in Brooklyn, NY to Mildred and Abraham Halpert; died March 14, 2011 in Santa Rosa. She studied art in New York with a group under a private teacher in the 1940s. In 1947 she married Edward Ryden whom she had met on a cross-country trip. Upon Ed's completion of a BFA at athe University of Colorado, the couple moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where Ed took an MFA at the California College of Arts and Crafts and where Jean studied lithography. Jean developed her painting skills and presented her first solo exhibit at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in 1959. A working trip in Europe culminated in a solo show in Pontpellier, France in 1961. She went on to become well known in the Bay Area through her participation in many group and solo shows while residing in San Francisco and a second home they had built on Sonoma Mountain. More trips led to their moving to Israel in 1985 where she continued painting and exhibiting, returning to California in August of 2002 upon their recognition that Jean suffered effects of Alzheimer's Disease. She lived at home in Santa Rosa until July 2005 when she moved into Primrose Center. Jean's smile will be sorely missed by her loving husband, Ed, and by the Primrose staff. They enjoyed 63+ years working together, building, traveling, and socializing. Jean had a ready wit, a love of reading and languages and a marvelous talent. Besides Ed, she is survived by many cherished products of her creativity, by cousin Robert Klein and family, and by numerous other family members. No memorial service is planned, in accordance with Jean's wishes.