Nancy Ann Ryles (December 18, 1937 – September 12, 1990) was an Oregon politician. She served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

, the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

and as one of three members of the state's

Public Utility Commission A public utilities commission is a quasi-governmental body that provides oversight and/or regulation of public utilities in a particular area (locality, municipality, or subnational division), especially in the United States and Canada. The utili ...

. She was known as an advocate for education and for equality for women and minorities. An elementary school in Beaverton is named after her.

Early life and first public service

Nancy Ryles was born Nancy Ann Wyly in 1937 in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. She graduated from Jefferson High in Northeast Portland and was chosen as

Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Foundation (named the Portland Rose Festival Association until the 2000s ...

Queen in 1955.Mapes, Jeff; and Dulkin, Diane (September 13, 1990). "Nancy Ryles dies of brain cancer". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', p. 1. In 1957, she married Vernon B. Ryles Jr. (1937–2013) and became Nancy Ryles. She attended

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

and

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

, but did not graduate from college."Ryles' last public service" (editorial). ''The Oregonian'', November 21, 1991, p. D10. Nancy Ryles served on the Beaverton school board from 1972 to 1978, as well as on the State Advisory Council for Career and Vocational Education."Summary of Legislative races for Washington County districts". ''

'', May 16, 1978, p. B9. The

Oregon Education Association The Oregon Education Association (OEA) stands as the largest public education employees' union in the U.S. state of Oregon, advocating for the interests of 44,000 teachers and classified personnel. With local affiliates established in each of the ...

gave her its Human Rights Award in 1974. She was named Beaverton's "First Citizen" in 1979.Bodine, Harry (April 25, 1982). "Senate District 3 hopefuls differ over sales tax". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', p. C2.

Career in government

Ryles was elected to the

in 1978, succeeding Tom Marsh, and serving what was then House District 5 (but which became District 7 after a legislative

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionment ...

plan approved by the

Oregon Legislature The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower chamber: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the H ...

in 1981). In 1982, she was elected to the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

, District 3—a newly created district formed from portions of other districts (including about half of former Senate District 5). She served two terms in each chamber of the Oregon Legislature, and in both chambers was appointed to serve on the

Education Commission of the States The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a nonprofit that tracks educational policy. It is led by over 300 appointed commissioners from across the United States. ECS was founded as a result of the creation of the Compact for Education, an i ...

. She was proud of the passage of a 1981 bill mandating public kindergartens in Oregon, which built on work begun by then-legislator Betty Roberts in 1965. She co-chaired a Senate Task Force in 1985 and 1986 which attempted to pass aid in dying legislation; the legislative efforts were unsuccessful, but were an important precursor to the passage of the

Oregon Death with Dignity Act Measure 16 of 1994 established the U.S. state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act ( ORS 127.800–995), which legalizes medical aid in dying (commonly referred to as physician-assisted suicide) with certain restrictions. Passage of this initiati ...

in 1994. She was appointed to the

Oregon Public Utility Commission The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is the chief electric, gas and telephone utility regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It sets rates and establishes rules of operation for the state's investor-owned utility ...

(PUC) by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (June 16, 1940 – June 12, 2024) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state, and federal offices over three decades. After serving as mayor of Portland, Oregon, ...

in April 1987 and resigned her position in the Oregon Senate effective May 15, 1987, to take up her new duties. She was the first woman to serve on the Oregon PUC. Ryles died September 12, 1990, of cancer. She was still serving on the state's Public Utility Commission at the time, her term due to end on March 31, 1991. She was buried at Bethany Presbyterian Cemetery. She was survived by Vernon Barton Ryles (September 25, 1937 – August 7, 2013) and two children, Scott Allen Ryles and Ashley Marie Ryles.http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~orwashin/Cem/Bethany/bethany3alpha.htm Friends of Ryles established a women's

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

program at

in her honor, the Nancy Ryles Scholarship Fund. The program had been Ryles' own idea. She had regretted having never graduated from college, and she wanted to help other women avoid having such regrets. The first scholarship winner was announced in May 1991, and by September 2010, 23 women had been its beneficiaries. The scholarship fund was valued at $708,000 in 2010. In 1992, a newly opened

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

in the

Beaverton School District The Beaverton School District (BSD 48J) is a school district in and around Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It serves students throughout Beaverton, Hillsboro, Aloha, and unincorporated neighborhoods of Portland, OR. The Beaverton Elementary S ...

was given the name, Nancy Ryles Elementary School, in tribute to Ryles.

References

External links

The Nancy Ryles Scholarship
at

The Joan Johnson Papers at Portland State University
��Johnson was an aide to Nancy Ryles’ during her time in the Oregon State Senate and the collection contains Ryles materials relating to supporting aid-in-dying legislation and some of her speeches.
The Nancy Ryles Papers
at The University of Oregon {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryles, Nancy Wyly Oregon state senators Members of the Oregon House of Representatives Portland, Oregon, Republicans Politicians from Beaverton, Oregon 1937 births 1990 deaths Deaths from cancer in Oregon Women state legislators in Oregon School board members in Oregon Willamette University alumni Portland State University alumni Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly