Elizabeth B. Cripps was born on Sept. 17, 1918 in Audubon, Camden County NJ at home. Mrs. Cripps was the daughter of Alfred Bishop and Helen Mitchell Bishop. Alfred Bishop was a skilled mechanic and tool and die maker. Mrs. Cripps' mother was a homemaker and seamstress.
She had a twin brother, Lloyd, who died in 1940, and two older brothers, Ralph MItchell and Alfred Fenimore, known in the family as Fen.
Mrs. Cripps moved to Delanco, NJ in November 1922. She could fondly recall a time when some people still used horses and wagons in town. She graduated from Burlington City High School in 1936.She attended Pierce School and Business in Philadelphia.
In a note written to her nephew Tim Bishop in 2010, Mrs. Cripps said she met her future husband, Jim Cripps, in early 1942, introduced to her by her brother Lloyd's friend, Gardner Stratton, who had met Mr. Cripps at Fort Dix.
Mr. Cripps was a sergeant in the Army, in which he had enlisted in 1940 and had to stay in because of the outbreak of World War II.
Mrs. Cripps said she and Mr. Cripps were married on Oct. 4, 1942, "Out 'honeymoon' consisted of taking two and a half days to drive to Providence, Rhode Island," she wrote.
Mr. Cripps served in North Africa and then in Italy. He was sent back on a hospital ship in May 1945. He was eventually discharged in July and the couple could begin their life together.
They lived in Union and Maplewood in Bergen County in the years that followed. Mrs. Cripps worked as an executive secretary for at least two large companies.
One of her supervisors, in evaluating her work, said, "Mrs. Cripps... produces a tremendous amount of high quality work. If all secretaries in the company would produce as much, probably we could fire half of them."
The couple moved to Barnegat,NJ in 1980. They enjoyed traveling, playing golf, and visiting friends and relatives. Mr. Cripps died in 1993.
A lifelong Presbyterian, Mrs. Cripps became a member of the Wright Memorial Presbyterian Church in Barnegat in 1980. She served as an ordained elder on the session and was active in various capacities during her time at the church.
A voracious reader, Mrs. Cripps had a good wit and was always willing to engage in debate on a variety of issues. She liked to golf, travel, play cards, and cook. As for food, Mrs. Cripps enjoyed just about any kind and liked to learn new recipes. She was knowledgeable about professional golf and also followed the New York professional baseball and football teams.
She moved to Crestwood Manor, a retirement community in Whiting NJ, in September 1998 just after she turned 80.
Mrs. Cripps always had exacting standards for herself and her family members. She placed importance on the use of language and its pronunciation and precise use was important to her. As for her golfing days, she quit when she was 80, remarking that her game was not good enough anymore-- though she had recently scored a hole in one!
Mrs. Cripps died at Crestwood Manor on Jan. 16, 2019 at the age of 100.
She is survived by two nephews, Chris Bishop of Delanco and his companion Jackie who became a close friend of Mrs. Cripps in her later years; Ralph Timothy Bishop of Birmingham, Ala.; and a great nephew, David Bishop, also of Birmingham.
A memorial service was held at Wright Memorial Presbyterian Church in Barnegat. Burial was private in Brig. Gen. William Doyle cemetery in North Hanover.
Donations may be made to the charity of the giver's choice.
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