We are sad to learn that retired Maine Service Employees Association member Ted Rippy passed away in December. From 2010 to 2012, Rippy was a leader in MSEA’s Local 771 Chapter, which was named for the starting hourly wage of $7.71 for personal care assistants at the time of the chapter's founding. He was also a fierce advocate for for home-care services for seniors and people with disabilities.
He was also a longtime board member of Food AND Medicine, where he is remembered as an excellent leader and activist.
“With Food AND Medicine, Ted actively lobbied for legislation to aid homecare workers across the country,” wrote Jack McKay, director of Food AND Medicine. “He journeyed to Washington and gave his story to Senator Collins. He also went with us to Chicago and through his charm he managed to sit in first class while FAM board president Bob Toole sat in economy.”
McKay said that Ripple was a key leader in FAM’s public transportation effort “Transportation for All” and attended many press conferences and events to promote improvements to Bangor’s bus system.
“We could always count on Ted to make calls during our membership campaign, which is always a huge help to the organization, but we think he did it because he loved talking to people about FAM and the issues impacting our members,” said McKay. “I’ll never forget him saying that he “still had a lot of yeses" in him. Ted said yes to life and he was an incredible inspiration to so many people.”