Ethel Ridilla Mcmahon

Ethel Ridilla McMahon, 94, of Scotch Plains, died peacefully on July 7, 2016 at her home surrounded by her family.
A Life Celebration for Ethel will be from 6:00-9:00 P.M. Monday, July 11th, at Gray Funeral Directors, 318 E. Broad St., Westfield. Her funeral mass will be celebrated at 10 A.M. Tuesday, July 12, 2016, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 1571 Martine Ave., Scotch Plains. Please go to: www.grayfuneralhomes.com, to view Ethel's life tribute.
Born in Newark, where she was a graduate of Central High School, Ethel was retired from the Bell Telephone company where she worked in the accounting department in Newark for more than 42 years.
Family was her priority – a priority she established not just with lip service but by living it every day and stressing its importance to her son, daughter, nieces, nephews and their friends.
In her halcyon days and beyond, Ethel was the epitome of style from the hats that topped off an outfit to the high-heels that anchored it. Besides clothes, Ethel loved to try to beat the house in Atlantic City although she rarely succeeded. And anytime there was a family poker game, she was sure to have a seat at the table – her hands on chips ready to make a bet.
When it came to baseball, she swore allegiance to those guys in the pinstripes, a loyalty she picked up from her father. And with football there was only one choice – the Giants. She was a regular at home games going back to the late 1950s. At any family wedding, she could be found out on the floor doing her version of the latest dance. Baking, filling in crossword grids and reading were her other interests.
Ethel is survived by her son: Joshua L. McMahon III and his wife, Georgeanne, of Westfield; her daughter, Denise M. Lent of Scotch Plains; her four grandchildren: Meghann McMahon of Milwaukee, Wis., Maura O'Connor and her husband, John, of Cranford, Joshua L. McMahon IV and his wife, Becca, of Lufkin, Tx., and Kyle Lent of Scotch Plains. She also has two great grandsons: Evan and Gregory O'Connor of Cranford and several nieces and nephews who were very close to her.
Memorial contributions may be made in Ethel's memory to Atlantic Health Care Hospice, 465 South St., Morristown, NJ 07960.