Mary Teresa Watters, 71, beloved wife, mother, playwright, and friend, passed away on July 25, 2026, at her home in Shepherdstown, WV.

Mary was born on August 12, 1954, in Princeton, WV, the first child of Ruth Belcher Watters and Raymond Watters. After graduating from Princeton High School and completing an undergraduate degree at Concord University, Mary relocated to the Washington, DC area to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in theater at the Catholic University of America, and made DC her home for 40 years. Over those decades, she cultivated a diverse group of dear friends who became like family, including through closely knit communities at Christian Family Montessori School, Circle Community Church, and the Rolling Ridge Study Retreat Community.

Mary built a distinguished career in communications, serving as corporate communications director for organizations including Fingerhut Powers & Smith, a Washington-based public relations, communications, and graphic design firm, and CPWR—The Center for Construction Research and Training, a world leader in reducing occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in the construction industry. Her work earned numerous national and regional multi-media awards.

Her deepest passion, however, was the theater.

From directing neighborhood productions in her Princeton backyard as a child to seeing her original plays produced on stages throughout the Washington area and beyond, Mary remained a lifelong theater artist. During several years at Folger Theatre, she embraced nearly every aspect of production, from box office operations and costuming to ushering and ultimately serving as wardrobe mistress. She wrote both plays and musicals (including composing the music and lyrics) for children and adults, and was a founding member of the Playwrights’ Gymnasium in Washington. Her plays have been presented in DC, Atlanta, and New York, including readings and productions at the DC Fringe Festival, Imagination Stage, Active Cultures, Charter Theater, and the Kennedy Center.

An unexpected and wonderful plot twist in Mary’s life presented itself in December of 2011, when she reconnected with her college sweetheart, Andy Ridenour, after 37 years apart. They were married on October 19, 2012, by her dear friend, the Rev. Vicki Kemper, with dozens of family and friends joining in their joyful reunion and enduring love.

Together with friends from Circle Community Church, Mary and Andy participated in the creation of Shepherd Village, a cohousing community in Shepherdstown, WV, which embodies so many of the values Mary treasured most: community, compassion, generosity, and belonging. Mary and Andy relocated to Shepherd Village in 2019 and quickly became devoted members of both the community and the town they loved.

Mary’s most treasured roles were that of wife to Andy, the love of her life, and mother to her beloved sons Mat and Sam, who were a source of constant joy and pride for her. In their childhood, she was a devoted and attentive mother, learning all she could about things they loved, enthusiastically cheering on the sidelines of their games and activities, and creating a welcoming home their friends loved to visit. That enthusiasm continued as she remained an engaged presence in their lives in adulthood, cheering them on in their chosen careers. She was cherished not only by her family but also by their many friends and colleagues.

Upon hearing of Mary’s passing, one friend said, “Everybody on this earth would benefit from having a little bit more of her grace and magic in them.”

Mary is survived by her husband, Andy Ridenour; her son Mat Whittington; her son Sam Whittington and his wife Amelia; and Andy’s daughters Katherine Daniel and Johanna Ridenour; and countless friends whose lives were enriched by knowing her. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Raymond Watters, and her brother, Jimmy Watters.

A Mass of Christian Burial to celebrate her life is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Mary’s birthday, at 11:00 am at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Shepherdstown, with Rev. Mathew Rowgh as Celebrant.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Department of Neurology in Mary’s memory, at Donate to Support Neurology | Johns Hopkins Neurology and Neurosurgery