By JACK PALMER
palmer@crescent-news.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Defiance native Terry (Tuff) Ryan, author of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, died Wednesday afternoon at her home in San Francisco.

Ryan, the sixth of 10 children of the late Evelyn and Leo (Kelly) Ryan, was a 1964 graduate of Defiance High School.

"Terry was an outstanding person, always upbeat," said her high school classmate and longtime friend, Pat Walter of Defiance. "She was a very caring person, always concerned about other people more than herself. She never had any self pity."

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, published by Simon and Schuster in 2001, chronicled the true story of how housewife Evelyn Ryan managed to make a living out of winning entries in jingle-writing contests.

The book was the subject of a movie released in September 2005. The film starred Julianne Moore as Evelyn Ryan and Woody Harrelson as Kelly Ryan.

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Tuff," Betsy Ryan, Terry Ryan's younger sister, said this morning from her home in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. "In a perfect world, this day would never come. Neither would a story like my mother's ever occurred or ever needed to be told.

"We are taking these days to cherish Tuff and Evelyn's ability to embrace this imperfect world and live in it with wit, grace and a sense of purpose," added Betsy Ryan.

Terry Ryan spent her childhood watching the parade of prizes coming through the front door as a result of her mother's quick humor and "knack for words." She inherited her mother's love of language and graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in English and journalism.

"Terry possessed many of her mother's traits," said city resident Connie Andrews, another good friend and high school classmate. "Even these last few months when she was very sick, she always looked at the bright side. She was a very courageous person."

"She loved her hometown," added Andrews. "She always called Defiance home."
Ryan began her working career with the American Medical Association in Chicago, editing the journals of ophthalmology, neurology and children's diseases.

She relocated to San Francisco in 1969, became a copy editor and later worked 25 years as a technical writer for application software. She is the author of two books of poetry and contributed articles to the San Francisco Chronicle, The Writer and Bay Guardian.

She also served as a book reviewer for the Chronicle and editor of books for California publishers, including Chronicle Books, University of San Francisco, Ten Speed Press, Arcus and Booklegger Press.

Ryan was the writing half of the cartooning team of T.O. Sylvester, whose single-panel cartoons have appeared in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle, Ms. Magazine, Mother Jones, Saturday Evening Post, Saturday Review, Boy's Life, Datamation and Vegetarian Times, among others.

Following her mother's death in 1998, Ryan wrote The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, based on the notebooks and memorabilia Evelyn Ryan left behind. Terry Ryan toured widely promoting the book, appearing on "The Today Show," "Rosie O'Donnell Show" and in bookstores, libraries and radio shows across the country.

She later served as an adviser to the movie, which was produced by DreamWorks and Revolution Studios.

Ryan was diagnosed with brain cancer in late November 2004, but was strong enough to visit Defiance with seven of her nine siblings to attend the movie's local premiere in October 2005.

She had been under hospice care in San Francisco for the past several months.

Funeral arrangements are pending at Mast-Mock-Hoffman Funeral Home. There will be public visitation and a funeral Mass at St. Mary Catholic Church. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery.