Whether she was planning and executing an alumni gathering or simply reciting the day’s meals for students who called into the Hunt Dining Hall menu line, longtime dining hall director Gini Ridge made every effort to put a smile on the face of everyone in the Mary Baldwin community.
Ridge passed away July 6 in Staunton. She was 87.
“Gini was an integral part of the Mary Baldwin experience, with students dialing the menu line just to hear her elaborate and fantastic reading of the fare for the day,” said Charmice Hardy ’08. “However, she also took the time to get to know the students, was a source of kind but blunt advice, and was always ready for a laugh. She will be sorely missed in the Mary Baldwin community.”
Ridge retired from MBU in 2007, and according to her obituary, “loved golf, gourmet cooking and a good glass of red wine.”
Anne Holland, director of special projects for the MBU Alumni Engagement Office developed a special friendship with Ridge over the years organizing alumni gatherings. Holland said Ridge was known for going above and beyond to make every Homecoming meal special and as a result, the staff and alumni had a wonderful time mixing and mingling.
“We had the best time,” Holland said of the events Ridge helped oversee. “She didn’t have the words ‘no’ or ‘never’ in her vocabulary. I just never met anybody in my life who had such passion for making food beautiful.”
Coffman Funeral Home in Staunton has arranged for friends and family to plant a tree in Ridge’s honor. More information can be found on their website.