Mary A. Ripley

Born April 17, 1924, in Kansas City, Kan., she was the daughter of Charles Berry Hood and Annie Smith. After graduating in 1942 as valedictorian from Olney Springs High School in Colorado, Mary headed for Sedalia, Mo., the very next day. In October 1943, she began working as a supply and assistant voucher clerk, supervising six employees at Sedalia Army Air Field in Knob Noster, Mo., which is now Whiteman Air Force Base. This was a civilian position, but she did wear a military uniform. She ordered Pratt-Whitney airplane engines and was also responsible for tracking all incoming, outgoing and resident aircraft.

In February 1944, Mary met a young World War II C-47 U.S. Army Air Forces pilot named Bud Ripley at a dance at the Bothwell Hotel in Sedalia. Mary received a porch swing proposal from Bud in May 1944, and they married on Aug. 10, 1944. Three days later, Bud headed for the European theater of operations.

In 1945, Bud received orders for the Pacific and was in transit when Japan surrendered on Sept. 2. Mary, with 4-month-old son Mike, started heading to Idaho around Sept. 25 by plane, bus and automobile from Sedalia. After staying the night with her beloved aunt Mabel Smith Norris in Kansas City, Kan., Mary and Mike boarded a United Airlines flight to Denver but were grounded because of iced wing tips. At the stopover hotel, a soldier asked to hold Mike, telling Mary he was the father of a child he hadn't held yet. When Mary returned to the Denver airport, another soldier helped Mary with her luggage and baby Mike, saying he hoped someone would help his wife if she faced a similar situation. After arriving in Pocatello from Salt Lake City by bus, Mary discovered there were no hotel rooms because of a convention. A pilot from Empire Airlines found Mary, offered his room to her and said that he would sleep in his office. Bud made reservations with Empire Air to get Mary and Mike to Lewiston and Mary and Mike were off again, where they met Bud and Fred Gritman to continue by car to Orofino.

Mary and Bud settled in Orofino as they began raising four sons. They also moved to Coeur d'Alene for a short period in 1949-50 for work reasons before returning to Orofino. In the early '60s, Mary began work as an accounting clerk for the U.S. Forest Service in Orofino, and stayed very busy with boys in school, little league baseball and other activities. In 1968, Mary and Bud moved to Coeur d'Alene, where Mary continued her federal government employment for many years at the Bureau of Land Management's district office there. After Bud retired from 39 years at GTE, they moved to Lewiston in 1986.

Mary was a steady and loving sister, wife, mother, aunt, friend, grandmother and great-grandmother, with a very sweet disposition, quiet courage and dignity. Family was important to her. Mary was no stranger to hardship, as she was the oldest of three children who lost her mother at the tender age of 3. At the age of 11, Mary was reunited with her sister Ruth, who was 10 years old at the time. For Ruth, her sister Mary was "the only mother I ever had." For more than 40 years, Mary enjoyed a close relationship with her mother-in-law, Effie Jo Ripley.

Mary thought it was important to take responsibility for who and what you are and that experiences make a person stronger. Photogenic without fail, Mary was a fantastic cook. Mary's family fondly remembers many delicious meals over the years. Her fried chicken, spaghetti sauce, Swedish meatball and coconut cream pie recipes are legendary. Skilled at cultivating beautiful flower and vegetable gardens, Mary also cultivated many strong lifelong friendships wherever she lived. As a sophisticated seamstress, Mary once sewed Levi's for a Barbie doll. At one time, she managed eight home fish aquariums, which gave her great joy. Mary loved to craft, camp with family and play solitaire.

Mary's legacy will endure, as she shares a birthday with her oldest grandson, Chris. Her granddaughter Angie and great-granddaughter Emma both bear strong resemblances to her. Chris' daughter Lainey Marlis is also named in memory of Bud and Mary's infant daughter, Marlis Kay, tragically lost at age 2 days in 1949.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 71 years, Herbert "Bud" Ripley; infant daughter Marlis Kay Ripley; her brother, Roy Alexander Hood; her sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Ripley Durant and husband X.E. "Bus" Durant; and her brother-in-law, Roland Lunde.

She is survived by her sister, Ruth Hood Lunde of Corona, Calif.; and four sons, Mike Ripley and wife Sharon of Lewiston, Richard Ripley and wife Jill of Spokane, Dan Ripley of Bellingham, Wash., Cheryl of Post Falls, Idaho, and Jeff Ripley of the Tri-Cities. Mary is also survived by seven grandchildren, Carrie and Chris, Angela and Molly, Tyler and Sam, and Chelsey; as well as 10 great-grandchildren. Ruth's daughters, Mary's nieces, also survive her; as do Christine Lunde Weir and husband Doug of Phoenix, and Diana Lunde Parks and husband Mike of Moreno Valley, Calif.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home, 920 21st Ave., Lewiston.

The family suggests any memorial contributions be made to Clearwater Valley Hospital Foundation, directed to Obstetrics, at 301 Cedar St., Orofino, ID 83544.