Florence Barbara Harper Ridout (Barbara), aged 93, died of congestive heart failure on April 7, 2018. Born August 17, 1924, Barbara lived most of her life in the Annapolis area. The daughter of the late John and Violetta Harper, Barbara graduated from Annapolis High School in 1942. She attended State Teachers College in Towson, graduating in 1946, and was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society. She attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University for her Masters.
Barbara was first an Anne Arundel County School music teacher, primarily at Eastport Elementary School, sharing her love of music with her students. She also was choir master for St. Martins Lutheran Church, and then led the choir at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church for many years after her marriage. Barbara shifted to teaching fifth and sixth grades at Eastport Elementary School, later moving to Arnold Elementary School. She retired in 1988. Some of her former students continued to keep in touch with her up to the time of her death.
Barbara married Folger McKinsey (Mack) Ridout, Sr, on September 27, 1959. She and Mack shared the home he built on Whitehall Creek in Annapolis. Barbara and Mack were very active in St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. In her retirement, Barbara enjoyed playing the piano, reading, and taking drives through the countryside. She loved spending time with her family.
Barbara is survived by her son, Folger McKinsey Ridout, Jr, of Annapolis; her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Frank Phillips of Stevensville; two sisters, Eloise Ragle of North Carolina, and Louise Kindle of Florida; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, April 15, 2018, at 2pm, at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1601 Pleasant Plains Road, Annapolis. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. A private burial will be held at a later date in the Whitehall Cemetery, which is the Ridout family cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Whitehall Cemetery Fund, c/o Mollie Ridout, PO Box 324, Arnold, MD 21012.
