Martha Horan Ryan, age 77, of Las Vegas, Nevada, passed away Thursday, July 31, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Martha was born on June 25, 1937, in Ottumwa, Iowa and was the oldest child of Margaret Boblenz Horan and Philip Dawson Horan. She graduated high school from Ottumwa Heights Academy in 1955. She received her B.S. in Home Economics from Iowa State University in 1959. She married John Doyle Ryan, from Brooklyn, on June 27, 1959, at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Ottumwa, Iowa. Her teaching career spanned six decades and two centuries. Martha taught at Guernsey Community School for a year before it consolidated and became Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcolm High School. She taught home economics at BGM and then earned her M.A. in Special Education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1989. Martha taught special education at BGM and also at Mojave and Rancho High Schools in Las Vegas. Martha was an active 4-H leader and religious education instructor at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Brooklyn. A lifelong lover of books, she served on the Brooklyn Library Board and was Library Coordinator at the Sun City Libraries in her retirement. Martha was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband Doyle, and four children: Julie Crom (Randall) of Washington, D.C.; Sue Weiss (Craig) of Ames, Iowa; John (Alison) of Colorado Springs; and Dan (Denise) of Cheverly, Maryland. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Brett, Walker, and Ryan Weiss of Ames, and Carole and Evelyn Ryan of Colorado Springs. She is survived by her siblings: Philip (Jan) of Incline Village, Nevada; Margaret (Howard) Weiland of San Mateo, California; Rosemary (Thomas) Muehlebach of Overland Park, Kansas; and Charles of Davenport, Iowa. Martha is also survived by an additional 50 members of the Horan Clan. Friends and relatives are invited to join members of Martha's family at a Celebration of Life on Saturday, November 15th from 3:00-5:00pm (program begins at 3:30pm). The service will be held at The Summit, Sun City Summerlin, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd, Las Vegas, NV. For questions regarding the service, contact Sue Ryan Weiss at sryanweiss@yahoo.com In lieu of flowers, Martha requested that a book be donated in her memory to a school, daycare center, library, or senior center. Donations may be made to The Public Education Foundation's "Rancho H.S Homeless Student Fund " in Memory of Martha Ryan online at ThePEF.org or mailed to The PEF, 4350 S Maryland Pkwy, LV, NV 89119. To leave an online condolence, visit www.baconfuneralhomes.com