Shared Memories From Friends & Family
Please share your memories and photos by emailing them to connie@tedconnie.com.
I was a very lucky fellow to have had such a loving woman in my life. I will miss her forever.
~ Ted Lujan
Mom,
Your quiet strength and immeasurable love made all the difference.
I will miss you.
Love,
~ Your Son John
Little known fact: Mom (Connie) taught me (and a couple of my brothers) to ski. It would have been in the mid 60s in Juneau, Alaska. Somehow she acquired a few pairs of wooden skis and leather boots and on a snowy day we sidestepped up the yard in Auk Bay and skied down. When we moved from Juneau to Anchorage in 1969, Mom was instrumental in getting us cross country skis and getting us out on the snow. Skiing became an important part of my life. And even after my skills went beyond her teaching, she encouraged my participation in the sport, even if it meant going through a lot more asthma medicine.
This picture below was taken in 1977 (or 78). More notable than the classic Nordic technique is the one piece knicker suit. Mom sewed that suit by hand on an antique Singer sewing machine. Naturally as an ungrateful teenager, I really wanted one of the shiny spandex suits that my teammates had, and I failed to appreciate the hours of hard work and the creativity it took to turn scraps of fabric into that suit.
Today, on closer look. It’s a great looking suit!
Thanks Mom!
~ Your Son Robert
We met when we were in the same graduate school at Seattle University. After Connie got her degree she went back to Anchorage but she visited me every year in the Seattle area, usually in the winter so she could get away from the everlasting dark of home.
She and I took many road trips together over the years. The most memorable for both of us, I think, was our trip down the Oregon coast. We found dozens of sea stars and Connie saved sand for a coast scene she made at home. She said her young grandsons loved that.
Our first trip, a weekend on the Olympic Peninsula, was when I realized that, as much as I loved camping, Connie did not. She had borrowed a sleeping bag and small tent from her son but ended up sleeping in the car where she felt safer.
As we both got older we couldn't visit in person but talked often. Over the past year she called every week. I miss those talks. She was a good friend.
~ Kay Nairn
I am sad to hear about Connie's death.
I know that both Connie and Ted have endured and grown through grief before they married.
I met Connie as she and Ted attended Holy Cross Parish in Anchorage. They are a wonderful couple and we miss them.
Ted, I hope you have support through this time. COVID limits those human hugs but sometimes words not enough.
May God be with you.
~ Marilyn Kerr
I knew her as Mrs. Ripley, and she was my tough-but-fair 3rd grade Montessori teacher. She taught a group of 6 kids of various ages – we were 1st – 3rd grade at a church in Spokane Valley. In addition to helping us learn reading, math, social studies and the usual school subjects, she also taught us to love learning and to follow our hearts when it came to our interests. She’d pile us all into her old pickup truck and we’d head to the library where we could pick out anything we wanted. There was never talk about whether material was “too old” for us. She had us all bring bikes to school one week and we rode around the area, learning safe bicycling skills and also learning about the various trees that grew, even stopping to talk to a neighbor as they harvested apples from their trees. We learned about sports – but not just the rules of games like baseball. She had us try new things, like pitching with our left hand if we were right handed, and batting in the same way. She always had us looking at things from different perspectives – helping us to question the world around us in various ways.
I got back in touch with Mrs. Ripley in 2008 after my son was born, and we exchanged some messages and I learned she was remarried. I am glad I had the chance to connect with her again. Looking back over my life there were a few educators who really stood out – and I have always credited Mrs. Ripley Lujan at the top of that list. My love of learning is a driving force in my life, and it was nurtured and cared for by this very special lady.
~ Amy Skaar, 3rd Grade Class of 1983
Ted and family,
I’m sorry to hear about Connie’s passing.
I worked with Connie at St Elizabeth’s. What a wonderful woman! We used to meet at Carrs for salad lunch and catch up. She was always so loving, open, and a breath of fresh air.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
~ Marilyn Picou
Around 1993 I received a call from a soft spoken woman. She said her name was Connie Ripley and she was recently hired as the Director of Religious Education at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. The previous director had left suddenly, and my name was passed on to her from the pastor because I had done some volunteer work with the previous director. She didn’t know where files and important things were and was wondering if I could come in and show her where things were kept. At the time I talked to her I thought she sounded like a sweet “church lady.” I showed up at the church and told her what I knew. It was then that I began to realize my first impression of her was anything but correct. Connie was strong, assertive, progressive and detailed. I began to volunteer for her and we developed a lifelong friendship.
One year the parish was paying for Connie to attend a religious retreat in New Mexico. She persuaded the administration to allow me to attend also. I knew nothing of what the retreat was about, only that it was a women’s retreat up in the mountains in an area called Ghost Ranch. The retreat was entitled the Wild Women Retreat. In one word I would describe it as just that – WILD. That is when Connie and I developed an even closer friendship.
She had lived quite the life when I met her and continued to do so through the years. She lived in the present and always learned from her past. She was the most authentic person I have ever met. Her heart was huge. She loved her family fiercely. She was the best listener. I could always count on her to NOT tell me what I wanted to hear but what I needed to hear. She was so many things to me.
I was touched when she asked me to be her maid of honor when she married Ted in 2000, and she embarked on a new chapter of her life. Through all these years we always had our weekly phone call, sometimes more often. We took many trips together, shared many meals together and laughed a lot. She leaves a big hole in my heart but also my heart is whole because she was in my life.
~ Carol Cowan
I was privileged to know Connie for several years before she married my fortunate Dad. She was a lovely woman who brought a peaceful demeanor where ever she went. She could always diffuse a conflict with a kind and accepting word. She was always an encouragement to me as a step daughter. She believed in me and always gave a word of confidence when I needed it.
She loved the beach. I have many fond memories with her and Dad in Mexico and Hawaii. I can picture her picking up shells with her feet in the sand. She valued fitness and we shared water aerobics many times. She was a free spirit and was able to live in the moment.
Connie was a wonderful and understanding partner for my Dad for 20 years. Im saddened it couldn’t be more. He was a recent widower when they married and she was able to meet the challenges around his process with grace and patience.
She was proud of her 5 wonderful sons and we shared many stories about raising boys. She was blessed, and deserving, to have them all involved in her life until the end. She always wanted to be involved with her grandchildren as much as she was able and proudly displayed family photos of her family members in her home.
We have all been enriched by Connie’s influence and presence in our lives. I have been missing her since she has been leaving us a little at a time for a while now. I will continue to miss her. I will also continue to remember her and the support and encouragement she would give if she was able.
Rest in peace and in the arms of God,
~ Colleen Frommer
Dear Ted and all of the Ripley family,
John and I want to extend our sympathies for the loss of your Wife, Mother and Grandmother.
She was an extraordinary women that accomplished many things in her life by persistence and sheer will.
It will take awhile for me to realize there will be no more fun talks with Connie. She had become a good friend since she and Ted moved to Redmond and we have met once a week ever since. We decided to have our own book club and discuss interesting/controversial subjects. Even after she moved to the assisted living home, we kept meeting for “tea and cookies” and although she was having trouble with her health, she definitely expected to keep going and tried hard to keep up her strength and sense of good humor.
A year or so after we started meeting, she asked if I wanted to go on a cruise with her up the eastern coast from NY to Quebec. Ted wasn’t interested in going and she wanted to meet up with other friends from Alaska., Well, I said yes and it was a wonderful experience for me as I had never been on a cruise. The group from Alaska included us in many of their activities and it was a trip with memories of Connie that I will always remember. It was where I really got to know her and we became fast friends.
I will sorely miss a good friend, a kind caring person and our spirited conversations each week.
All our best,
~ John and Pat Cress
Connie was the Director of religious education when I move to Alaska in 1996 and began to work at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish as a youth minister.
She quickly became a mentor and a friend that I learned so much from. She was patient, kind and loving.
I remember when Connie and Ted first began to date and she was so joyful and absolutely in love with him.
Let us give thanks for another wonderful Saint in heaven.
Connie, please pray for us.
Sincerely,
~ Matthew Beck
Memories of Connie bring a smile to my heart!
When we first moved here it was winter, and a incredible snow storm 2014. Snow was pretty deep and Ted came to help the stranger (me) shoveling driveway and Connie with her trekking poles right behind him.
She would walk all over with her trekking poles and go about 1/2 mile there and back to see the fields of purple flowers. Connie had a very vibrant and beautiful spirit and very welcoming in our visits for coffee, dinners, and Super Bowl.
Connie was fun to be with and I am going to miss her! I loved her smiles and will carry them in my heart.
Much love and many prayer to the family,
~ Athena & Geoff