Valeria Inez Ripley

Inez was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on March 26, 1928, the second of four children to Oscar Lee and Luevina Mae (Beauchamp) Adair. Having lived through the Oklahoma Dust Bowl and the Depression, she recalled her childhood experiences of picking cotton with her mother, seeing her mother hang wet sheets to keep the dust out of the house, and watching her grandmother make dresses out of flour sacks. As a school girl she took pride in winning the county school district award for the Best Penmanship. At the invitation of a friend she attended Holy Family High School in Tulsa, which was her first exposure to the Catholic faith. She paid for her high school tuition by working as a popcorn girl at the movie theatre and then at Brown Dunkin’s Department Store.

In the Fall of 1946, a handsome, young man Paul Ripley came to work at Brown Dunkin’s and caught her eye, commencing a friendship that lead to a marriage of 71 years. They married on July 11, 1947, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Inez worked at Midcontinent Oil Company until the birth of their first child; then she chose to stay home and take care of her family. She was devoted to her vocation as wife and mother and their family grew to four children as they moved from Tulsa to Lancaster, PA, settling in Ft. Wayne, IN in 1960.

Motivated to give their children a strong Catholic education, they were co-founders of the School of St. Mary in Tulsa. Upon moving to Ft. Wayne, Inez initiated St. Vincent de Paul School’s “Home and School Association” and taught their Great Books program. She was always a helpmate to Paul as he built his business and she served as bookkeeper throughout the years. Inspired when meeting Mother Teresa, she became a strong advocate for the unborn and the role of the father in the family.

Her greatest legacy was her devotion to her faith, her husband, and her family. She was truly defined by her faith. She recalled as a young child swinging and singing, “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. I am weak but He is strong.” Both Paul and Inez were raised in Christian families and together they entered the Catholic Church. They’ve enjoyed the blessings of three generations of their descendants baptized in the Catholic Church. Their faith enabled them to rely on Christ’s Divine Providence in good times and bad. In times of trial, they would pray with confidence, “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in You.”

Inez was surrounded by her beloved husband and family praying the Rosary when she passed to eternal life, on the feast of St. Teresa of Avila, and the vigil of the feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who spread the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Inez is survived by her loving husband of 71 years, Paul E. Ripley, children: Karen (Joseph) Stein, Janet (Richard) Caron, Jeanne (Albert) Emilian, Roger Ripley, thirteen grandchildren, thirty-four great grandchildren, her sister Ila (Robert) Bresette, her brother in law Robert (Betty) Ripley, and many nieces and nephews. Inez was preceded in death by her parents Oscar and Luevina Adair, her sister Irene Tudor, brother Harold Adair and great grandson Michael Fisher.