Avis Hennigar Cripps
1925 – 2009
NORTH MONMOUTH — Avis Hennigar Cripps, 84, of North Main Street died peacefully on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at her home.
She was born April 22, 1925, in Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, the daughter of Carl Bailey Hennigar and Anna Berry Hennigar.
After the death of her father, the family moved to Maine on April 4, 1929. Her mother Anna, later married Irving Leighton and the family settled in Winthrop when Avis was 6 years old. She attended Winthrop schools and graduated from Winthrop High School, Class of 1943. She married John Cripps on May 11, 1946, and in 1949 the couple moved to North Monmouth, where they started a family and raised three sons.
She attended night classes at Gates Business College and worked in local area businesses, retiring from Progressive Distributors Inc. in 1985.
Her hobbies and interests included old fashioned rug hooking, sewing, quilting and working in her flower and vegetable gardens. She enjoyed canning and was famous for her bread and butter pickles, relishes, jams and jellies.
She is survived by three sons, Dennis of North Monmouth, Dale and granddaughter, Emily Takahashi of Honolulu, Hawaii, and David and his wife, Darlene, and granddaughter, Amanda of North Monmouth; a sister, Barbara Smith of Penacook, N.H.; as well as may other family members and friends who will miss her dearly. She will also be missed by her dogs, Ginger the Queen, Frankie the King, Nutmeg and Cinnamon.
She was predeceased by her parents; her husband John in 2001; a sister, Ardis H. Gile in 1967; and a nephew, Kevin Gile.