(08/17/15) East Providence – Edna Mae (Ferguson) Ripley of East Providence and Mount Vernon, Maine died peacefully on August 16th at the Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center, Providence. She was the wife of the late Rev. David A. Ripley, Sr.
Born in Philadelphia, PA, she was the youngest child of the late Thomas P. and Agnes J. (Johnson) Ferguson.
Edna was educated in the Philadelphia Public Schools. She received her BA from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA in 1950 and her Masters in Elementary Education from Central Connecticut State College in 1968. Edna and David met and married while at Dickinson and remained happily married for 61 years. She was predeceased by her son, David A. Ripley, Jr., her sister, Elizabeth Rogers, and her brother, Thomas P. Ferguson.
Edna leaves her children, Renee Harvitt, Doris and Mark Anderman, Denise Ripley and Kenneth Gober, Don and Cindy Ripley, and Dawn and Kevin Wiley. She was the proud and loving grandmother of Craig and Linda Ripley, Cara and Matthew Dame-Brusie, Devin and Kyle Burns, Kristen Ripley and Tina Taylor, and Heather Ripley and Jeff Petit. In 2014 she welcomed two great grandchildren, Acadia Mae Ripley and Felix Anderman Burns.
Above all, her greatest love and pride was her family. She loved learning new things and was an avid reader and letter writer. She enjoyed sewing, quilting, gardening, and puzzles. Edna taught in the Manville and Saylesville Schools in Lincoln, retiring in 1990.
In the churches that David served, she was active in the United Methodist Women, the Get Together Club, Adult Fellowship, taught Sunday School and sang in the choir. She volunteered at the United Methodist Retirement and Health Care Centers and was active in the Caring Clowns Ministry of the United Methodist Elder Care. She was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha and the Mill Stream Grange in Vienna, Maine.
Her family extends gratitude to the staff of the United Methodist Elder Care, Miriam Hospital, and the Philip Hulitar Home & Hospice Center for their love, care, and comfort.
A celebration of her life will be held Thursday, August 20 at 11 A.M. in Wesley United Methodist Church, 55 Woodland Street, Lincoln. Her burial will be private in Mount Vernon, Maine.
Relatives and friends are invited and may call at Bellows Funeral Chapel, 160 River Road, Lincoln Wednesday 4-7 P.M. In lieu of flowers, remembrance gifts may be made to Wesley United Methodist Church, 55 Woodland Street, Lincoln, RI 02865 or to North Vienna United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 146, Vienna, ME 04360. For Directions and Guest Book, please visit www.bellowsfuneralchapel.com.
↧