GI bride Audrey Paschal, formerly Audrey Ridgewell from Saffron Walden, has died aged 91 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Audrey, who as a young woman lived in Saffron Walden High Street, died on Thursday, September 8.
She met her husband to be, Robert Paschal, in December 1942. Robert was serving with the then named United States Army Air Force at Little Walden Air Base as a medical orderly.
The mayor of Saffron Walden at the time called on families in the town to invite the Americans into their homes for Christmas. Audrey’s parents, Arthur and Nellie, invited three and one of them was Robert.
The couple were married in St Mary’s Church, Saffron Walden, in October 1945.
Audrey went to the USA on the Queen Mary with many other GI brides and settled with her husband in North Carolina. The couple moved to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina in 1991, where she lived until she died.
She leaves her daughter Yolanda, son-in-law Lindsay, grandson Brad and Brad’s wife Anne Magill and great-granddaughters Merritt and Riley.
Audrey’s husband Robert died in 1997.
A service was held in the Rodenberg Chapel in Mount Pleasant South Carolina and there was a cremation at the Mepkin Abbey Columbarium on Monday, September 19. Her ashes were laid to rest beside those of her late husband Robert.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here