Beatice C. Riffe

A loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother died on March 11, 2025 in Herndon, Virginia.

Survivors include a son, Thomas Riffe, and daughters Maura Riffe, and Lydia Klene (Stephan). Beatrice leaves behind her dearly loved five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and brothers Rodney and Dennis Campbell; sister Evelyn Clark.

She was born in Middletown, Ohio but spent much of her childhood in Kentucky. Her parents were Ethel King and Leonard Campbell. She had ten siblings.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, James L Riffe; brothers Buford “Boots,” Paul, and Brad Campbell; and sisters Dorothy Hurt, Marge Whitaker, Jan Wentzel, and Patty Meredith.

She and her husband were married in Nashville, Tennessee in September 1953. Her husband, James L Riffe, was an Army Major at that time. Beatrice traveled with him to many different assignments in the United States, and to Berlin, Germany in 1961, ten days before the Berlin Wall was erected. They returned to the United States in 1964 and resided in Fairfax County, Virginia for many years. When Beatrice was in her fifties, she attended George Mason University and earned a BA degree in European Studies at age 58.

She and Colonel Riffe enjoyed traveling and they visited Europe many times. They visited five continents. She and her husband loved gardening and were both Virginia Master Gardeners.