IN MEMORIAM
George-Ann Hyde Doty Ryland, 81;
Family Built Glimmerglen Estates
COOPERSTOWN – George-Ann Hyde Doty Ryland, 81, a former school teacher and mother of three whose grandfather built Glimmerglen, the notable estate on Otsego Lake’s western short, died Tuesday, May 15, 2018, at Bassett Hospital.
Born May 17, 1936, in Chicago, Ill., George-Ann was the daughter of George Edward and Ann Hyde Doty and the granddaughter of William Truslow Hyde, who established the Glimmerglen estate in 1916. She was raised in Winnetka, Ill., graduated from New Trier High School and thereafter from St. Lawrence University, Class of 1958. At St. Lawrence, she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
After college, George-Ann moved to San Francisco and was a school teacher. While in San Francisco, George-Ann was introduced to her brother’s college roommate, William Hugh Ryland to whom she was wed on July 2, 1960. George-Ann and Bill settled in Baltimore, Md., where she continued to teach school and where she raised her three children.
In 1973, the family moved to Chevy Chase, Md, and then to London, England, finally retiring with her husband to their home at Glimmerglen, where she had spent many summers as a child with her grandparents.
George-Ann was known for a ferocious love of life and never missed an opportunity to lend her smile and energy to family, friends and neighbors. She had a joy for entertaining and cooking and for many years created “Periodical Pleasures,” a cookbook given out at Christmas time.
Her boundless love of nature was witnessed by those who could spy her daily walks through the hills of Cooperstown and by her family who she would rouse for full moons, campfires and treks through the forest.
George-Ann is survived by her daughter, Ann Ryland Beightol (David) of Chevy Chase, Maryland,; her son, John Ballard Ryland (Karen) of Cooperstown, her son, David Hyde Ryland (Lori) of Battle Creek, Michigan; eight grandchildren; and her sister, Mary Louise Doty of Tega Cay, South Carolina.
She was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, Bill Ryland, in 2013.
There will be no visiting hours. Funeral services will be privately held in Cooperstown and a celebration of her life will be featured as part of George-Ann’s long-established annual Labor Day picnic.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests, for those who so desire, contributions in George-Ann’s memory be made to the Susquehanna Animal Shelter (SAS), 4841 State Route 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Tillapaugh Funeral Service in Cooperstown.
