Cie was born on December 7, 1928 to the late William Frank Ridley Sr. and Flossie Jane Ridley, in Norfolk, Virginia. She attended elementary school in Portsmouth, Virginia. The family then relocated to Brooklyn, New York on Herkimer Street.
She then pursued a career in education, by earning a Bachelors and Masters of Science in Education in June 1952. She was a teacher at Public School 35 in New York City and also a professor at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York.
Cie traveled the world on vacations with affluent friends and colleagues. In 1958, she met William Henry Shepperson in Los Angeles, California. They fell madly in love and got married on December 25, 1958 in LA. They resided in Brooklyn, New York during their careers. Cie eventually retired from the NYC Board of Education in 1987 after 34 years of dedicated service, at which time she began to split her time between NYC and Virginia Beach, VA.
Her hobbies included fishing, dancing, singing, bowling, Karate and Jujitsu. She was a member of a Female Hockey Team and was fluent in Spanish. Cie formed a singing group “The Sheppersons.” That consisted of seven people during the late 60’s. She owned an antique shop/flea market on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. The members of the Lafayette Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, was her Christian family in which she was a steadfast member and spent many years in the choir. An active member of SAG (Screen Actors Guild) in which she had roles in Law and Order. At the Willoughby Walk Residence, where she resided, she was a co-op Board Member, socialite and Cie was a free spirit.
Cie and William did not have any children. Koko, her longtime Chihuahua, companion and service dog who was carried in a tote bag to the movies, grocery stores and eventually to your house.
While living in Virginia Beach, her beloved husband William H. Shepperson passed away in 2016, after 59yrs. of marriage. Shortly after, Cie resided at the Homestead Manor Assisted Living Facility in Denton, Maryland for the last 3yrs. of her life.
Special thanks to Karen Ridley and Arleen Loretta Gordon Martinez her nieces, for their unwavering dedication to Cie while residing at Homestead residence. The family would like to extend our love and appreciation to the caring staff at Homestead Manor in Denton, Maryland. Robin Pickens (LRN), Carlton Holmes, Leonard Grow, Cindy Gillion, Christine Harrington, Debbie Mc Callister, Judy Paul, and the entire medical staff.
Cie was preceded in death by her mother Flossie J. Ridley (1998) and father William F. Ridley Sr.(1929). Her husband William H. Shepperson in 2016, Koko her dog (2016) sisters, Marion L. Connell (2014), Virginia A. Gordon (2015), brothers, James S. Ridley (1948), Matthew L. Ridley (1984), William F. Ridley Jr. (2001), Robert T. Ridley (2009).
She is survived by 11 nieces and 2 nephews, Karen E. Ridley, Arleen Loretta Gordon Martinez, Sandra Gordon-White, Cheryl J. Gordon, Florence Rogers, Gloria Reeves Allen, Beverly King, Lynn Connell, Delores Al-Rahman, Grace Ridley, Joyce Coleman, Gary Gordon, James Ridley, and a host of great nieces and nephews.
