John “Tony” Ridgwell

1933 – 2018

John Anthony “Tony” Ridgwell, of Fayette, passed away January 6, 2018 at The Lodge in Fayette.  He was 84 years old.

He was born February 27, 1933 in Billericay, Essex, England to the late William James and Emily Edith Siggins Ridgwell.  Tony married Simonne Vandecnocke on July 11, 1953 in Tilsonburg, Ontario, Canada.  She preceded him in death November 21, 2013.

Tony was employed in the family construction business for many years.  The family moved to Fayette in 1961 from Brownsville, Ontario, Canada.  He was a self-educated master of many trades; a grandson shared that if Tony couldn’t fix something it probably wasn’t worth having.  He loved experimenting and building things from scratch.  He built a complete motor boat from scratch, a trailer that he used to move his family from Canada and began to build an airplane at one time.  He loved flying and especially cherished his time camping and floating on the river with his family.  Tony and Simonne enjoyed their time together and worked on their residential and rental properties in Fayette well into their retirement years.  He liked nature and going to the lake at sunset.  Tony was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayette.

Survivors include four sons, Dennis (Margaret) Ridgwell of New Franklin; Darrell (Karen) Ridgwell of Fayette; Dale (Betty) Ridgwell of Fayette and Marvin (Cindy) Ridgwell of New Franklin; three brothers, Brian ( Joan) Ridgwell, Colin Ridgwell and Terry Ridgwell all of Ontario, Canada;  sister, Mavis Honsberger of Ontario, Canada and a sister-in-law, Yolanda Vandecnocke of Fayette.   Also surviving are ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held at Carr-Yager Funeral Home in Fayette Thursday, January 11, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. concluding with a prayer service at 7:30.  A Mass of Christian Burial honoring Tony’s life will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m., Friday, January 12 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 300 S. Cleveland St., Fayette, Missouri with Father Bill Peckman officiating.

Interment will follow at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Cemetery in Boonville, Missouri.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to St. Joseph Catholic Church.

Tributes and condolences may be shared at www.carryager.com.

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