CUNDY’S HARBOR — Arlene Ridley McFadden, 86, died peacefully at her home in Cundy’s Harbor on Tuesday morning, June 1, following a brief illness.

She was born on April 7, 1924, the child of Catherine Stevens Ridley and Ralph D. Ridley of Auburn. Long-time residents of Auburn, the family owned and operated a laundry and were active in civic affairs. She graduated from Edward Little High School in the Class of 1942.

During World War II she worked at the State Department in Washington, D.C. After the war, she married Warren Graham McFadden, also of Auburn, who had been awarded the Bronze Star for his distinguished service in the U.S. Air Force. His family had been the owners and operators of a local grocery store. Mr. McFadden worked for nearly 50 years for the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company. He died of brain cancer on their 50th wedding anniversary, Aug. 17, 1997.

The couple lived most of their lives in Auburn, where Mrs. McFadden was a deaconess of the High Street Congregational Church. The couple moved to a log cabin of their own design on the ocean in Cundy’s Harbor once their only child, Cynthia McFadden, graduated from Bowdoin College and moved to New York City to attend Columbia Law School.

Survivors include their daughter, Cynthia McFadden, of New York, co-anchor of ABC News Nightline; and an 11-year-old grandson, Spencer Graham McFadden Hoge. She was also the proud aunt of eight nieces and nephews.