Betty Mae Ryder

The world lost a good lady today. Betty Mae Foust Ryder passed away on the early morning of April 9, 2022. She was born on the farm near Fromberg, Montana on May 22, 1918 to parents who came to Montana in covered wagons. Fred Foust and Edith Lenore Brown Foust provided a loving childhood for Betty and her brother Robert.

Carl F. Ryder married her in 1937 and helped her provide a loving childhood for their three children. Carolyn Ryder Shields (Jack), Gerald Carl Ryder (Margaret), and Ann Marie Ryder Johnson (Dennis) had good models to follow when they were creating their families.

Her brother Robert Foust and his wife Patricia Dowell Foust and their children Robert William Foust (Virginia) and Barbara Jean Foust Koch were very special to Betty.

Betty had 6 grandchildren–Ruth Ann Cline (Shane), Jackie Sue Shields (Tony), John Gerald Ryder (deceased), Brent Frederick Ryder (deceased) (Tricia), Stephanie Lee Johnson, and Bryon Harry Johnson (Wendy). She had 16 great grandchildren, and 8 great, great grandchildren.

Betty was a stay at home mom when raising her family. She was a wonderful cook, even though she would rather be outdoors or reading. She eventually took a job with Saga Foods after she and Carl moved to Billings and cooked at both Eastern and Rocky colleges.

She did volunteer work with the P. T. A. when they lived in Star,Idaho, and also did volunteer activities at the Methodist Church in Fromberg, Montana. When she retired in Billings, many groups benefited from her volunteering ways.

After Carl died in 1978, her childhood friend, Ed Saffel, became a kind and loving companion.

After Ed died, she moved to Lewistown to live with Carolyn and Jack Shields. She moved into the Valle Vista Manor on February 6, 2016, where the staff took good care of her and became her family away from home.

She was dearly loved by family and friends who had all benefited by her kindness and wit. She was intrigued by the myriad of changes that she had seen in her almost 104 years on this earth, and we loved the stories that she would share with us.

Goodbye to our lovely lady.

Betty’s family will be having a private celebration of her life. Friends are asked to make memorials to the charity of their choice and they may be left with the Cloyd Funeral Home. Condolences for the family may be posted online at www.cloydfuneralhome.com.