Elisabeth Witherspoon Riegel, 93, of Leonardtown, MD, died on January 23, 2006 at her residence.

Born on June 26, 1912 in Fostoria, OH, she was the daughter of the late Walter Manning Witherspoon and Verna Friesner Witherspoon. Known to her many friends as "Betty", a name she was not too fond of. She attended Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she majored in violin and piano. In 1932, she met and married Morton Edward Riegel who died in September 2005. They had been married 73 years. During World War II she taught music at Great Mills High School. Following the war she studied pipe organ at Bluffton College in northern Ohio, then served as her church organist. She also served her college orchestra as concert master at many performances in northern Ohio. Elisabeth was a homemaker and volunteer through the rest of her life. She served as a Red Gray Lady and participated in blood bank activities for many years in St. Mary's County. She loved to play Bridge and was a member of the same Bridge club for over 40 years. She was a charter member of the country Garden club. She was always the neighborhood "Doctor Mom" who treated local children's scrapes and bruises when their squeamish mothers wouldn't. She obtained a hypodermic syringe from a local nurse and administered rabies vaccinations to neighborhood pets. Elisabeth is survived by son, Robert Witherspoon Riegel and his wife Patricia Flynn Riegel of Littleton, CO, five grandchildren – Kathleen Hayes , Lafayette, CA, Alison Robinson, Fairfax, VA, Margaret Petermann, Oakland, CA, Major Jennifer Johnson, Tucson, AZ, Major Robert Riegel, Colorado Springs, CO and 15 great grandchildren.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday, January 31, 2006 from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. in the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A. in Leonardtown, MD. A Memorial Service will be conducted in the funeral home chapel at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be private.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 387, Leonardtown, MD 20650.