Obituary for Marie Armande Ripley Marie Armande Ripley, 87, a longtime resident of Newark, NJ, died on January 3, 2018. Marie was born Richard Ripley on March 17, 1930, in New Haven, CT. When he was in his fifties, Ski (as Richard was known to family and friends) became one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Ski’s early years were spent in France and England. Upon graduation from Watford Grammar School in England, he returned to the US and worked on a dairy farm in Bovina Center, NY, before attending Harvard College on a scholarship. Early in his first year of college he contracted poliomyelitis, which left him with partial paralysis of one leg.
His recovery required a year’s convalescence that delayed his graduation. After college he enlisted in the US Army Infantry, where initially his polio-afflicted leg went undetected. However, the Army soon determined that he was physically unable to serve in the infantry, sent him for training as a cartographic draftsman, and assigned him to First Army G-2 (Intelligence) at Ft.
Jay, on Governors Island, NY. There, he took full advantage of the free passes to which servicemen were entitled, to attend cultural events in New York City. Upon discharge from the military, he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris for one year on the GI Bill, and then embarked on a professional career as a stockbroker and financial analyst at Wall Street financial services firms Hayden, Stone & Co. and Dominick & Dominick, and a securities analyst at Prudential Insurance Co. in Newark, NJ.
During this time he became one of the first to earn the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). After 12 years Ski left the world of finance to become an active participant with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, a global, residents-based community development organization, where he was involved with various projects at ICA’s Chicago, New York, and Newark, NJ, sites. Following that he toiled for many years as a disability claims adjudicator in the Newark office of the New Jersey Department of Labor.
It was during his time working for the State of New Jersey that Ski underwent gender reassignment surgery to assume the new persona Marie Armande Ripley. After retirement, Rika (as Marie was known to family and friends) joined the Peace Corps to teach at a children’s school in Jamaica, BWI, having previously obtained a master’s degree in teaching from Montclair State College in NJ. Rika was a voracious reader of such diverse subjects as literature and culture, history, and foreign affairs/geopolitics.
She also had a keen interest in the performing arts – dance, in particular – and was a board member of koosil-ja/danceKUMIKO in New York City. She took particular pleasure in gourmet dining, designer fashion and traveling. Her hobbies included model building, model railroading, and scrapbooking.
Rika was preceded in death by her parents, Robert L.A. Ripley and Marie Armande Claudine (née Larroche), half-brother Philippe Crane, and ex-wife Margaret (née Moore). She leaves three sons: St Clair Ripley and wife Baiju, Huston Ripley and wife Catalina, and Timothy Ripley; grandchildren Annabelle Margaret Ripley and Huston Camilo (“H.C.”) Ripley; brother, Claude A.R. Ripley; and sister, Pierrette Armande Beckley. A graveside service will be held at Valley View Cemetery, Dover Plains, NY, on March 17, 2018 at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, Rika’s family asks you to please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Peace Corps. Order Flowers We’re sorry but the candle you have selected is currenty in the process of being purchased or has just recently been purchased. Please feel free to select another candle or check back in 15 minutes to see if the candle you have selected has been released for purchase.
Thank you. Okay We’re sorry but there are no candles available for lighting. Thank you.
Ok You have already begun a candle purchase session. If you would like to continue with your current candle choice please click “Continue” otherwise please click “Select Another”. Thank you.
Select another Continue In Memory of Marie Armande Ripley 1930 – 2018 Menu Click here to Send Flowers Plant a Tree In Memory of Your Loved One Click Here Subscribe to Updates Click Here Obituary for Marie Armande Ripley Marie Armande Ripley, 87, a longtime resident of Newark, NJ, died on January 3, 2018. Marie was born Richard Ripley on March 17, 1930, in New Haven, CT. When he was in his fifties, Ski (as Richard was known to family and friends) became one of the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Ski’s early years were spent in France and England. Upon graduation from Watford Grammar School in England, he returned to the US and worked on a dairy farm in Bovina Center, NY, before attending Harvard College on a scholarship. Early in his first year of college he contracted poliomyelitis, which left him with partial paralysis of one leg.
His recovery required a year’s convalescence that delayed his graduation. After college he enlisted in the US Army Infantry, where initially his polio-afflicted leg went undetected. However, the Army soon determined that he was physically unable to serve in the infantry, sent him for training as a cartographic draftsman, and assigned him to First Army G-2 (Intelligence) at Ft.
Jay, on Governors Island, NY. There, he took full advantage of the free passes to which servicemen were entitled, to attend cultural events in New York City. Upon discharge from the military, he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris for one year on the GI Bill, and then embarked on a professional career as a stockbroker and financial analyst at Wall Street financial services firms Hayden, Stone & Co. and Dominick & Dominick, and a securities analyst at Prudential Insurance Co. in Newark, NJ.
During this time he became one of the first to earn the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). After 12 years Ski left the world of finance to become an active participant with the Institute of Cultural Affairs, a global, residents-based community development organization, where he was involved with various projects at ICA’s Chicago, New York, and Newark, NJ, sites. Following that he toiled for many years as a disability claims adjudicator in the Newark office of the New Jersey Department of Labor.
It was during his time working for the State of New Jersey that Ski underwent gender reassignment surgery to assume the new persona Marie Armande Ripley. After retirement, Rika (as Marie was known to family and friends) joined the Peace Corps to teach at a children’s school in Jamaica, BWI, having previously obtained a master’s degree in teaching from Montclair State College in NJ. Rika was a voracious reader of such diverse subjects as literature and culture, history, and foreign affairs/geopolitics.
She also had a keen interest in the performing arts – dance, in particular – and was a board member of koosil-ja/danceKUMIKO in New York City. She took particular pleasure in gourmet dining, designer fashion and traveling. Her hobbies included model building, model railroading, and scrapbooking.
Rika was preceded in death by her parents, Robert L.A. Ripley and Marie Armande Claudine (née Larroche), half-brother Philippe Crane, and ex-wife Margaret (née Moore). She leaves three sons: St Clair Ripley and wife Baiju, Huston Ripley and wife Catalina, and Timothy Ripley; grandchildren Annabelle Margaret Ripley and Huston Camilo (“H.C.”) Ripley; brother, Claude A.R. Ripley; and sister, Pierrette Armande Beckley. A graveside service will be held at Valley View Cemetery, Dover Plains, NY, on March 17, 2018 at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers, Rika’s family asks you to please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Peace Corps.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
