Elizabeth Prosser

Elizabeth was born December 1, 1940 in Oklahoma City the first of five daughters of Dr. Moorman and Margaret Prosser. After living briefly in Norman, where Dr. Prosser was on staff at Central State Hospital and the state’s first board certified psychiatrist, the family moved to Camp Gruber in Muskogee during World War II where Dr. Prosser managed the psychiatric ward. After the war, Elizabeth moved with her family back to Norman and then in 1946 to Oklahoma City. In 1952 the family moved to Nichols Hills into a home that became the home base for the Prosser family until 1995.

Elizabeth was an intellectual force and a brilliant student. After finishing near the top of the first graduating class from Harding High School in 1958, she attended Christian College in Columbia, Missouri graduating first in her class and serving as president of the student government. Elizabeth then enrolled at the University of Oklahoma where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and graduated in 1962 Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship, which she took the next year in Dijon, France. In 1963, Elizabeth married high school classmate Doug Rippeto and both enrolled in graduate programs at the University of Pennsylvania. After earning a Masters in History on a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, Elizabeth moved with her husband from Philadelphia, to Miami, and Cleveland and finally to Connecticut. Along the way, Elizabeth became the proud mother of two boys, James Douglas Rippeto Jr. (“Jay”) born in 1966 and David Prosser Rippeto born in 1968.

In Connecticut Elizabeth worked tirelessly to raise her two sons and earned another Masters in Arts, this one in communications from Fairfield University. She then entered the restaurant business eventually becoming the vice president of marketing for a small regional group. Elizabeth then became an entrepreneur acquiring Soup’s On, a Westport, Connecticut staple with a presence on Main Street and a catering operation.

In 1993 after her father died and with her mother ill, Elizabeth moved back to Oklahoma City. The last 32 years in her hometown have been a wonderful fulfilling period with countless friends and surrounded by her beloved sisters Carol, Dorothy (d. 2004), Mary and Alice and their children and grandchildren. Elizabeth applied her boundless intellectual energy to numerous activities and held officer positions or board seats at many including Kappa Alpha Theta as a Trustee (named outstanding member in 2004), Phi Beta Kappa, National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution, the Harn Homestead, Best Friends of Oklahoma City Animal Shelter, and Animal Friends of Nichols Hills. She also spent over 20 years on a family genealogy project and was a member of several genealogical societies. Always a voracious reader Elizabeth was also a frequent guest of book clubs to lead discussions and reviews ranging from A Gentleman in Moscow to Anne Boleyn.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents Dr. Moorman and Margaret Prosser and her sister Dorothy Prosser Keller. She is survived by her son Jay, his wife Suzanne and grandchildren Margaret Grace Rippeto (“Maggie), Caroline Rippeto Little and her husband Walker Little, William James Rippeto, and Gwenyth Suzanne Rippeto (“Gwen”); her son David, his wife Chrystal, and grandsons Zachary David Rippeto and Maxwell Vickers Rippeto; sisters Carol Prosser Magness, Mary Prosser Flaim and Alice Prosser Litteken and her husband Gene.

Funeral service will be held at 1:00PM, Friday October 24, 2025 at Nichols Hills United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Oklahoma Humane Society in honor of Elizabeth’s lifelong love for animals and passion for finding home for every needy pet.

https://okhumane.org/donate/