Edna Nellie Bidault Ridgeway passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 8, 2013 at the Hospice House in Callaway, MD. Born September 10, 1923, in Sumter, South Carolina to Eugene and Ivabel Bidault, Nellie was the middle of three sisters. She is predeceased by her parents and her older sister Agnes Hall.

Nellie is survived by her son, J.C. Ridgeway, Jr.; daughter, Ameta R. (Don) Macaluso; four grandchildren, Cameron Dunn, Michael Ridgeway, Heather R. Keane, and Ashley Ridgeway; ten great-grandchildren, and her sister, Eugenia (Jean) Lyons.

Married to a career Air Force enlisted man, Julian C. Ridgeway Sr.; Nellie worked various jobs all over the country and overseas: she was a file clerk at a hospital in Tampa, Florida and in Great Falls, Montana; worked in Civil Service on Guam, Marianas Islands and in Amarillo, Texas; and she worked for the state in Tacoma, Washington. Her longest job was at the Safe Federal Credit Union in Sumter, South Carolina, which she held from 1969 until her retirement in1990. During that time she was employed as Supervisor of Accounts Control for 13 years and then worked in the Accounting department.

A devout Christian, Nellie attended church at St. Marks Methodist Church in Sumter, South Carolina until she fell ill in 2005 and moved to Maryland to be near her son and his family. She served as Treasurer at St. Marks from 1975 until 1986 and for several years she was the recording secretary. She also helped out as an offering counter for many years. She was a familiar face and an active participant in all church activities.

Throughout her lifetime, Nellie was many things- but first and foremost, she was mother, grandmother, and friend. If you asked her children and grandchildren what they remember most fondly of her, they might respond with the countless favorite recipes only she could make just right, like pecan pie, lemon meringue pie, macaroni & cheese, cheese straws, snow ice cream, coconut cake, meringue cookies and her date-nut roll. Or they might recount stories of her camping adventures, walks in the woods, and fascination with birds and her love for cats. Friends and neighbors will recount to you the amazing cakes of all shapes and sizes that she made for their birthdays and special celebrations, or tell you how they could often find her, kneeling in the garden amidst the flowers. But all will tell you that she met them with a contagious smile and a spirit of gentle kindness with a pinch of adventure that will never be forgotten.

Family and friends are invited to share a potluck dinner at St. Marks Methodist Church fellowship hall in Sumter, SC (27 Broad St.) on April 20, 2013 at 5 PM. A memorial service will be held at 6 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that you consider a donation to the Hospice House of St. Mary's, P.O. Box 625, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Arrangements by the Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.