Barbara Ridgeway

The Obituary

Barbara Diane Ridgeway the proud parents of Mr. & Mrs. Melvin and Rosie Lee Ridgeway on April 26, 1957 in Los Angeles, Californias at John Wesley Hospital. Barbara, affectionately known as Diane by her parents and siblings, was raised in a loving, nurturing, and protective environment, where her father and mother taught her the love of God, family, and the importance of hard work. At a young age, Diane took on the responsibility of helping mother raise her younger siblings after the sudden death of her father. Although she never bore children of her own, she took a genuine delight in helping to raise not only her siblings, but all her nieces and nephews. Diane had a profound love of family, faith, and food. If she ever found out that one of her sisters could cook a certain dish well, she would request that dish on a regular basis. She was also blessed with a very special heart and love for pets.

There came a time in Diane’s life when she began to seek and desire something greater than family or anything else this world could supply. On the second Sunday in September 1995, she gave her life to Christ at the Manchester Baptist Church of Los Angeles after hearing a sermon preached by her brother, Pastor Reginald J. Ridgeway, Sr. She arrived at the altar, gave her brother her hand, and gave her heart to God. Diane later became a member of the Crenshaw Christian Center, under the leadership of the Late Dr. Frederick K.C. Price, Sr. and later Pastor Frederick K.C. Price, Jr. Diane was educated in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She attended Bret Harte Junior High and Alain Leroy Locke High School.

She was employed with the County of Los Angeles, working at the King Drew Medical Center for 33 years. She was greatly loved and admired by those she worked with. Diane made it a regular practice to tell others of the goodness of God and the power of His salvation to all who would hear her. In April of 2021, she retired from King Drew Medical Center. After a long battle with kidney failure, Diane made her transition from earth to glory at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital, with her family, Sisters, brother, nieces, and nephews at her bedside. Her brother, Pastor Reginald J. Ridgeway Sr, who took her by the hand at the Manchester Baptist Church while she gave her life to Christ, held her hand as she quietly left this side to join her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the other side.

Diane was preceded in Death by her Parents, Mr. & Mrs. Melvin J., and Rosie Lee Ridgeway. Three Brothers. Melvin J. Ridgeway, Jr., Terry Ridgeway, And Roy Ridgeway. One Nephew Bobby McGee. Diane is absent from the body and now present with the lord. She leaves to cherish her memory. Five sisters, Janice E. Ridgeway Hatfield (Alfred), of Jackson, Alabama. Vickey D. Ridgeway of Inglewood, CA. Tina R. Ridgeway of Hawthorne, CA. Joyce A. Ridgeway of Los Angeles, CA. And Sharon R. Ridgeway of Hawthorne, CA. One Brother, Pastor Reginald J. Ridgeway, Sr of Eastvale, CA. A great host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, aunts, cousins, and friends. May she rest in Peace until we meet again.