George Richard Ripley

George Richard Ripley passed away peacefully on Friday, March 24, 2017 at the age of 72.

Our father, known as Rich or Rip to many, was born on April 1, 1944, a son of the late Watson “Wat” and Kathleen “Kitty” (Carpenter) Ripley, in Harrisville, NY. He married and lived with his family in the Livonia, NY area for several years and later moved to Lakeland, Florida. He spent many years as a truck driver and enjoyed life on the road, singing for anyone, anywhere and time spent with family and friends. He dreamed of singing in Nashville with some of his country music favorites and spent a few years as a Nashville tour guide. He returned to NY as his family grew. Dad loved his family unconditionally and would drop anything to be there for someone he cared about. If you were his friend, you were a part of his family and if you were in need, he adopted you.

He is survived by his four children (with Mona (Ripley) Wojick), Casey Ripley, Tina (Thomas) Pritchard, David (Paula) Ripley, and Daniel Ripley; 14 grandchildren, Amy, Daniel, Jordan, Joshua, Mark, Eric, Andrew, William, Samantha, Christi, Ashleigh, Melissa, Macayla and Nicholas; 6 great grandchildren, Lilah, Carleigh, Cece, Naja, Liam and Emerson; 7 siblings, Carole Williams, Ronald (Carleen), Jon (Brenda) Ripley, Laura (Frenchy) Provost, Wanda (Jim) Siedlecki, Rebecca (Keith) Moore, Michael (Regina) Ripley; aunt, Harriet Martin, uncle, Carl Ripley; and many nieces, nephews, and a large extended family. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Patricia Ann Ripley.

Dad suffered a stroke in 2009 and his life changed drastically. He was bound to his wheelchair, but that did not stop him from moving. He did learn to walk again with assistance and practiced daily. He continued to call and chat with family and friends until he passed from this life and left his failing body. We rest assured in the knowledge that he is whole again, singing with the angels, and dancing on the streets of heaven.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, April 1st at the Jacksonville Community United Methodist Church at 4:00 PM with a dinner to follow. Thank you to all who loved and cared for dad.

The family asks those who would like to make a contribution to forward donations to the George Richard Ripley Memorial Fund, c/o Tompkins Trust Company, PO Box 702, Trumansburg, NY 14886.