Terry Ryan, who wrote the book “The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio,” which later became a movie about how her mother kept the family financially afloat by winning jingle contests, has died. She was 60.
Ms. Ryan died Wednesday at her home in San Francisco, her family said. The cause of death was cancer, said Pat Holt, her longtime partner.
Ms. Ryan was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2004 just after filming of the movie was completed. The DreamWorks film starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson was released in 2005.
Ms. Ryan, the sixth of the family's 10 children, told the story of how her mother, Evelyn, won cars, refrigerators, televisions and money in commercial jingle contests during the 1950s and '60s in Defiance, Ohio, a town about 50 miles southwest of Toledo.
Evelyn Ryan, who died in 1998 at age 85, used the winnings to feed the family and her alcoholic husband. The money also stopped them from being evicted from their home.
Terry Ryan decided after her mother died that she needed to write the story of their life. Her book was a loving tribute to her mother.
Ms. Ryan left her hometown in northwest Ohio in 1969, moving to San Francisco. She worked there as a writer and cartoonist. She also reviewed books and wrote two poetry books.
“Terry possessed many of her mother's traits,” said Connie Andrews, a 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.”
