Violet Gladys "Vi" Riddell

1920 - 2014

PINEHURST, N.C. - Vi Riddell, 94, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, at Quail Haven Village in Pinehurst. She died of longevity and its various challenges – a fall, the related effects and complications, and a series of strokes over her last few weeks. During the last two years, when she resided at Elmcroft in Southern Pines and at Quail Haven, her family was with her frequently.

Violet Gladys Janda was born Jan. 7, 1920, in Chicago, Illinois, to Anna Rose (Mottys) and Anton Janda. Her parents were members of the Bohemian community in the Chicago area, and the family lived in Cicero and Berwyn. Vi attended public schools in Berwyn, graduating from J. Sterling Morton High School in 1938. She pursued further education at Morton Junior College, earning an associate's degree in 1940, and then went to Northern Illinois State Teachers College where she received a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1942.

In 1943, Vi married her high school sweetheart, Fred Riddell, shortly after his graduation from the University of Illinois in Metallurgical Engineering and as he entered the U.S. Navy. They were stationed in Washington, D.C. for the last two years of World War II. Her first child Tom was born there in 1944. Following the end of the war, the Riddells moved back to the Chicago area, living in Berwyn and Riverside. Vi's second child Lynne was born in 1947. In 1950, the family continued its westward movement through the suburbs of Chicago, settling in Downers Grove in 1950. In 1959, Vi and Fred added son David to their family.

Vi worked as a teacher and a substitute teacher in Chicago suburban schools in the 1940's and 1950's. But she and Fred also raised their family in the post-World War II period when it was possible to create a comfortable middle class life style with one a income earner. Fred was the primary income earner, and Vi was the primary family caretaker. The education of her children was of primary importance; both she and Fred were first-generation college graduates, and they were intent on maintaining that goal in their family. Vi and Fred were both active in the Parent Teacher Associations in Downers Grove. Vi was also committed to other advocacy activities, usually focusing on the education and welfare of women and children, including membership in the American Association of University Women and volunteering with the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago.

After having lived in Downers Grove for three decades, and succeeded in sending their children to college, Vi and Fred retired and moved to Seven Lakes in North Carolina in 1979. They were eager to leave Chicago winters behind, and live in a climate where Fred could play golf more often, and Vi could take up a game that she had played only occasionally up north. And play more golf they did. First as members of the Seven Lakes Country Club, and later as members of Richmond Pines. They also continued to enjoy bridge and contract bridge. They traveled abroad, frequently with Grand Circle Tours, and participated in Elder Hostel activities. Vi and Fred also visited, and were visited by, their children's growing families.

Vi was a board member of the Seven Lakes Landowners Association. She continued her volunteering work with Pine Tree Enterprises in West End, the Sandhills Coalition, and Tuesday Tutoring at the West End Presbyterian Church. For some time, she was also an active member of the Chapel in the Pines in Seven Lakes.

Vi was predeceased by her older sister Irene (Janda) Saggars in 2001, by her husband Fred in 1992 and by her son David in 1978.

She is survived by her daughter Lynne Maroun of Seven Lakes, and her two sons and daughter, and by her son Tom Riddell and his wife Meg Robbins of Northampton, Massachusetts, and their six sons. As a result of a family that grew and extended over her long life, Vi Riddell had nine grand and step-grandchildren and 19 great- and step-great-grandchildren. They will all miss her, her love, her sense of humor and her commitment to taking responsibility, treating all people with equal respect, and trying to make the world a better place.

There will be a memorial service and celebration of Vi's life Saturday, Jan. 17, at 2 p.m. at West End Presbyterian Church in West End, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Vi Riddell's memory to First Health Hospice Foundation, 150 Applecross Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374, or Tuesday Tutoring at West End Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 13, West End, NC 27376.

Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines is serving the family and burial was at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Southern Pines.

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