PT-1 Ridley Family Physical Therapy Scholarship

Lois and Theodore (Ted) Ridley married in 1948 and were life partners for 50 years in the state of Michigan. In 1996, Ted was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor. Their son Gordon then served as Associate Dean for Administration of the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Gordon arranged for Ted to come to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics to have the University’s outstanding faculty physicians perform surgery and follow-up care. Dr. Robert Dempsey and his colleagues conducted a long, complex surgery followed by a lengthy stay in the hospital, including much rehabilitation. Ted Ridley left the hospital, returned to his home and while suffering some motor loss, lived for eleven years, allowing him and Lois to continue their lives together and enjoy watching their grandchildren become adults. Lois and Ted Ridley were most grateful for the services Ted received, and in particular, the care and attention of physical therapists. They wanted to recognize the benefit they received, and, acting on their high regard for university education, they established a scholarship for physical therapy students of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They had earlier established a student scholarship at Michigan State University in Lois’s name.