Alexandria — Mary Ribble Cranwell, a Central Intelligence Agency careerist, died on March 4, 2014 in her residence at Goodwin House Alexandria. She was 82 years old.
Mrs. Cranwell was born on March 17, 1931 in Ashland, Ky. and was the eldest of two children of John Francis Ribble Jr. and Nell Allen Ribble. She spent her childhood in Rutherford, NJ and Prestonsburg, Ky., and moved to Alexandria to attend St. Agnes School at the beginning of her junior year of high school. In 1948, after graduating from St. Agnes, Mrs. Cranwell attended Mary Washington College (Women's College of University of Virginia) in Fredericksburg, Va and earned BA in History, graduating with honors in 1952.
Following college, Mrs. Cranwell went to work on Capitol Hill for Senators Robert Clymer Hendrickson (N.J.) and Estes Kefauver (Tenn.), and assisted the latter on the Senate Organized Crime Committee. After marrying Thomas George Cranwell, becoming a full time mother of two, and ultimately getting divorced, Mrs. Cranwell returned to the workforce and established a career in the Central Intelligence Agency. She retired from the CIA in 1993 after 25 years of service.
Mrs. Cranwell called Alexandria home for over 51 years and was extremely proud of its community spirit. In her retirement, she remained active in several clubs/societies including the St. Agnes Alumni Board (a school she loved dearly), the Symphony Orchestra League of Alexandria, and the Central Intelligence Retirees Association (CIRA).
She is survived by her two sons, James Harford Cranwell and Taylor Gordon Cranwell, as well as her brother John Francis Ribble, III.
A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on March 13, 2014 in the chapel at Goodwin House Alexandria located at 4800 Fillmore Ave., Alexandria. A memorial headstone along with her ashes will be placed in her family plot at Grace Episcopal Church, Casanova, Va. at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org) or P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011).