SCARBOROUGH — Barbara Valentine Jaeger Ferrell, 92, died peacefully Wednesday, Oct. 6 at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House.
Born Jan. 3, 1918, on Staten Island, N.Y., a daughter of Edward Valentine and Elsa Warth Jaeger, she attended local school until the family moved to Denville, N.J.
After she graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Mass. in 1940, she worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
During World War II she joined the American Red Cross and was deployed to England in 1944, and later served in France and Germany, before returning home in November 1945.
On May 11, 1946, she married Captain Herbert Ross Ferrell, and settled in Yarmouth, where they began a successful business career in the motel and tourism industry.
In 1950 they built the Down-East Village Motel and Restaurant in Yarmouth, and 60 years later, it is presently the oldest operating motel in Maine, operated by their son, Ed and his wife, Sue.
She and her husband were charter members of the Maine Innkeepers Association and the Maine Restaurant Association.
After her husband’s death in 1978, she remained active in the Yarmouth community.
Volunteerism was a strong value of hers, and she volunteered extensively with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Portland Junior League, the Yarmouth Historical Society and was an active member of the First Parish Church UCC in Yarmouth.
In 1985, she married Robert Riegler, and they lived together in Yarmouth until his death.
A keen sense of adventure and love of the outdoors, she and her family enjoyed fishing, hunting and skiing. Her favorite place for the last 40 years was her home in Newry.
She took many amazing trips around the world with family and friends, including a memorable trip down the Rhine with her son Ross when she was 88 years old.
Throughout her life, she was always connected to her children and their families, and wanted only the best for her family.
Surviving are three children; two sons, Ross and his wife Joan of Bangor, and Ed and his wife Sue of Yarmouth, and one daughter, Ginnie Ferrell and her husband Jack Raymer of Atlanta, Ga.; her brother, Hank Jaeger of Rhinebeck, N.Y.; five grandchildren, Jeffrey and his wife Sylvia of Bucksport and their children, Hannah and Aliyah, Matthew and his wife Deb of St. Cloud, Minn., CJ and his wife Kate of Yarmouth and London, England, Jay and his wife Angie and their son Caleb of Yarmouth and Ryan of Yarmouth; two stepdaughters, Cathy Riegler Van Hof and Betsy Riegler Reiney and their families, all of Florida; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial services and a celebration of life were previously held.
Arrangement are by Lindquist Funeral Home, One Mayberry Lane, Yarmouth.
Please visit lindquistfuneralhome.com for additional information and to sign the guest book.
Memorial donations may be made to Yarmouth Historical Society, P.O. Box 107, Yarmouth, ME 04096
or to First Parish Congregational Church, UCC, 116 Main St., Yarmouth, ME 04096.
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