Mary Evelyn (Jones) Ridgley was born Aug. 22, 1940, in Mountain View, Arkansas, the daughter of Nellie (Wallace) and Herbert Jones.
She attended schools in Calico Rock, Fifty Six, and Mountain View, and graduated from Mountain View High School in 1958.
She married Johnny Carl Ridgley on Aug. 22, 1960, in Mountain View, Arkansas.
They soon moved to California where they established working careers, followed by moves to cities across the country. In 1994 they retired to Mountain View from Chicago, Illinois.
Survivors: husband, Johnny C. Ridgley; son, Johnny Thomas (Laura) Ridgley of Mountain View; daughter, Vicki Lynn (Tom) O’Leary of Chicago and Queen Creek Arizona; brother, William Ivan (Debbie) Allen of Ardmore, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Ashley Jean Ridgley (Cameron Smith) of Chicago, Illinois, Michael John Ridgley of Los Angeles, California, Hayden Thomas O’Leary of Chicago, Illinois; nieces Lorna Amber Martens (Randy) Morgan of Tiffin, Iowa, son, great-nephew Maclane Morgan; and Haley Allen (Johnny Mentzer) daughter, great-niece Geneva of Oklahoma.
Preceding: father, Herbert Jones; Step-fathers, Melton Allen, and Charles Hall; mother, Nellie Wallace Jones Allen Hall; sister, Eva Jean Jones Martens; grandparents; Henry and Ellen (Langston) Jones; Arthur and Mary (Sullivan) Wallace.
Mary was a faithful member of the Red Doors Missionary Baptist Church.
She served as a local, regional, and state officers and a Grand Martha in the Walter Moore Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
Mary’s greatest joy was to have a family at her table, especially for Thanksgiving.
She was known for her generous hospitality, hosting a family reunion for all her kinfolks in the region for many years after retiring to Mountain View in 1994.
