EDITH RIPPLINGER MOSIER January 18, 1926 – October 12, 2018 Yaya, aka Edith Ripplinger Mosier, got her lifelong wish of being “twinkled” to the other side early Friday morning, October 12th. She spent the last days of life at home, enveloped by love from family and friend. She entertained us with short bursts of humor and her trademark outrageous statements such as “your big ears are cold” and “he never was particularly handsome”.
Anyone who spent time with Yaya quickly learned the phrase “her bark is worse than her bite”. She rarely expressed her love through loving words. Instead her love was clear in her acts of service, tight hugs, fierce scowls and unsolicited advice.
Most of all, her love was shown through generosity. She gave freely of her time, money, affection and service and she usually stepped in to help before anyone had to ask. Whether it was hiring a handicapped handyman, taking a sick woman to the doctor despite her husband’s disapproval, or opening her home to her daughter’s family for years, she never hesitated to put others’ needs above her own.
Yaya was larger than life. Standing over six feet tall with flaming red hair, she had strong opinions and lived a very non-conformist life path. Some people felt that she didn’t fit in.
The truth is, she never tried to fit into life–she made life fit her! Her legs weren’t too long, it was just that women’s pants were too short, so she confidently wore men’s pants. She wasn’t too independent or forceful, it was just that other people were unable to make decisions and stand by them.
It wasn’t a tragedy to forget the hamburger buns, it was an opportunity to have the family’s first lettuce wrap! She loved living in Pinesdale, Montana and she died saying it is the “last best place”. She made the people there “her people”.
Over the years there were many abandoned, lost, overwhelmed, downcast and rejected people who thought they adopted her as their Yaya. They didn’t know that she is the one who gathered them into her flock and adopted them into her family. She taught her family to love unconditionally and her life exemplified the magical mathematics of love—that it grows the more you give it away.
Although she married more than once, she only had one true love. That love shaped her life, guided her decisions and gave her hope for the eternities. Yaya was a resilient, confident, faithful person.
She used her mistakes, whether they be in choosing a husband or trying a new chili recipe, as an opportunity to learn and grow into a better person. She never judged others for their mistakes and was a champion for the underdog. We will miss her terribly but we know that she has moved on to the next best place and is busy championing underdogs, reuniting with her loved ones and watching over us.
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