Marjorie B. Ridgway of Southampton Dies January 19

Marjorie B. Ridgway of Southampton died on January 19 of unfortunate complications from a fall. She was 100.

She was born in the Bronx on January 5, 1925, to Edwin and Anna Birnbaum. She attended Evander Childs High School, class of 1942. She was the youngest Girl Scout Troop leader in New York City at the age of 17 and continued her work with the Scouts in Southampton for many years.

She worked in lower Manhattan at Chemical Bank in the foreign department, using her French language skills. After moving to Southampton, she worked for several local businesses. In 1969, she took a part-time job at Southampton College, completing 30 years of employment there.

During a snowstorm on December 19, 1948, she married Emerson Ridgway at Eastchester Presbyterian Church in the Bronx. Together, they built their home in Shinnecock Hills in 1949, where, at the time, you could see clear from the bay to the ocean.

She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, and the Southampton United Methodist Church, where she served as church school superintendent for many years.

She and her husband were very active members of Bull Head Yacht Club. They spent many summer weekends on their boat “Yes Dear,” wiling away the hours in their secret cove off of Peconic Bay.

She is survived by her sister Virginia Christiansen of Hampton Bays; two daughters, Mary-Alice Halsey of Southampton and Dorothea (David) Ettman of Seneca Falls and Southampton; a nephew, Roger (Jim) Kelsch; grandchildren Matthew (Carrie), Jamie (Emily), and Andrew Ridgway, Eric (Lauren) and Janine (Donald) Halsey and Kelsey, Melissa and Katie (Collin) Ettman; and four great-grandchildren, Morgan and Hannah Ridgway and Mya and Chase Halsey. She was predeceased by her husband Emerson D. Ridgway; and son David E. Ridgway.

She was also fortunate to have uncommonly devoted friends and neighbors, Mary Ellen and Tom Pearson, Linda Ashcraft and Ward Ackerman, and the Armandi family.

Donations in her name can be made to The Southampton Fire Department Juniors, the Combined Veterans Organization, the Southampton Volunteer Ambulance, or the Nature Conservancy.