Ryan Earle Mclaughlin

In the early morning of January 1, 2021, Ryan McLaughlin quickly and accidently left the celebration of the new year to join the immediate and eternal celebration waiting for him in heaven where his presence was requested by his Lord and Savior. Ryan was born January 6, 1985 to Bob and Kathy McLaughlin in Santa Clara, CA and right from the beginning, they knew they had the best blessing they could ever ask for. At age 2 they decided not to raise a child in California and moved to Aumsville Oregon. At a very young age, Ryan was identifying makes and models of cars and it was clear that his sharp mind was steering him to any and all things mechanical. His ability to remember facts of vehicles, identify a year, make, model from just a picture of a headlight or grill was astonishing to anyone.  He was a gifted artist as well, drawing mostly …yes… vehicles. His interest and appreciation for antiques also started at a young age and when asked to go to either Toys R Us or an antique store – it was always the antiques.  Besides cars, Ryan had MANY collections over his 35 years – too many to list here, but all were important to him. In 2003, Ryan graduated from Cascade High School and later went on to Job Corps in Yachats, to complete their training program as an Automotive Mechanic. He had several jobs as a service technician and diesel mechanic, but it wasn’t until 2018 when he found his “perfect job” as a logger. He had always loved being up in the mountains and was fascinated by everything mechanical about the process of logging. “The best of both worlds”, he said.  Things in life for Ryan were always black or white; no in between. Even though he knew the real world had a lot of gray, he refused to live there. Ryan was comfortable in his world and anyone who got to know him, just knew and understood this. Besides his vast knowledge of all things with wheels, Ryan was known for his quick wit, impish grin, pulling pranks, helping out his friends and sometimes even strangers. Ryan was loved by many and will be greatly missed, leaving a space in many hearts that knew him - for they will forever have a “Ryan story” to tell.  Ryan was preceded in death by his dad, Bob McLaughlin in 1995; his grandparents: Bernice McLaughlin, Dave and Lynn Sweetland. He is survived by his mother, Kathy Sweetland; his grandfather Richard McLaughlin; Aunts and Uncles: Mark and Mary McLaughlin; Dave and Alice Philip; Carolyn Sweetland; Michael and Terri Sweetland; many cousins and his biological son Ben. A Celebration of Life took place on Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 3pm at Emmanuel Bible Church. The Service can be viewed at: https://my.gather.app/remember/ryan-mclaughlin In lieu of flowers the family suggests purchasing a memorial tree from this site to have trees planted in Ryan's memory.