According to the autobiography she penned in 1984, she is “Gemini-born, on May 26, 1921, two people in one body.” She is “doing, going, full of ambition, energy, talent, enjoying nature and all its components. A leader, who is loving and giving, is never static, hopping from one thing to another, becoming easily bored, and always anxious to accomplish the unreachable goal. Usually cheerful, a real ham of an entertainer, who relishes a challenge and entertains new thoughts and lively conversations.”

She is the lovely and intriguing Anna Marie Roy Ribbeck, and she epitomizes the description of her zodiac sign. One could never be limited to a one-word description of Anna. Indeed, even an article such as this could never fully do justice in explaining the twists and turns of her life. Not that writers haven’t tried before ...

Many stories have been written about Anna, as journalists tried to capture her essence in their storytelling. In Memphis, she was written up for her collection of antique treasures. Another newspaper story there spoke of her artistic talents and showcased her paintings of her four daughters. Once, a newspaper writer came calling to find the history behind a curious squash that seemed to have grown into the Ribbeck family’s pear tree. And though it was Anna’s husband, Phil, who was a lifetime employee of Exxon Corporation, it was Anna whom the company’s publication, The Esso News, chose to highlight for her many interesting hobbies.

Throughout her 82 years, when Anna wasn’t being written about, she was entertaining others with her own writing. She has enjoyed writing poetry since she was a young girl, and her poetry has been published in Carol Jahncke’s “Bogue Falaya Anthology,” as well as in an edition of “The National Anthology of Poetry.”

ears ago, she penned a poem for the cover page of a publication put out by the local Chamber of Commerce and even designed original artwork to accompany the verse. (She chides that she has poems shoved in every drawer in the house, and laughs at the thought of her kids finding them all when she’s gone.)

As an official tour guide for St. Tammany Parish, Anna became immersed in local history, and graced many a page with her knowledge of the area and its attractions. Editors of newspapers as close as New Orleans and as far as Oregon know Anna’s name, considering the many letters she has sent to their publications.

And then there is her expert knowledge of gardening. Those on the northshore know her well for her insights on southern Louisiana gardening, and her columns have become a familiar reference for both expert and amateur alike. Her love of plants stems from her youth, when she gardened with her dear grandmother. She remembers many of the lessons passed down to her during those special times; the scenes are imprinted forever in her memory.

“I grew up living with her. We lived there for 17 years before mom and dad built their own home, so she was like a mother to me,” says Anna, the daughter of Sebastian Roy and Caroline Schiebert. “Grandmother and I spent many happy hours in her garden, and it was there that my love of plants was nourished and I became enamored with nature.”

Anna’s unique love of gardening did not go unnoticed, and she was scooped up by WKNO in Memphis, where she resided during the 1970s, to host a weekly show that offered tips and instruction on the topic. She was dubbed “The Plant Doctor,” and is still known by that moniker today. Her enthusiasm for planting made the show a success, as did her unique views on nature that sometimes differed from popular belief.

“I always differed with the Almanac on how to tell the signs of the changing seasons,” she says. She noticed that the rules didn’t always apply for the southern climate, and she offered more down-home advice to her viewers. “I always said that when the pecan trees came out, you could put your coats away. That means spring is here!”

Anna’s first love was of nature, but her true love was the boy next door. Literally. She grew up on Ursuline Avenue in New Orleans, while her future husband, Phillip Ribbeck, lived in the house just behind her on Bell Street. They watched each other grow up, but parted during college; Anna attended Newcomb College, while Phil went to LSU.

Anna fondly recalls the memories of her courtship with Phillip. After obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a teaching degree, she took a job as a draftsman with Higgins Ship Builders during World War II. When that job ended, she became a loftsman with Consolidated Vultee Corporation.

“That phase of my life gave me the opportunity to walk in the crossroads of life, and realize how very much I loved the boy next door, who was far away fighting for our country,” she says. “Our long distance love affair was too hot for long distance comfort and so my young lieutenant gave me one week’s notice to get ready to become his bride!”

They made their first home in the Northwest town of Bend, Oregon, where Phillip was the first of five bachelor officers on base to get married. Anna laughs as she remembers learning quickly to cook for a crowd!
After six months, the newlyweds were transferred to Olympia, Washington and seven months after that, the honeymooners became new parents. Their beautiful daughter Carol Lou, nicknamed Cukie, was born in 1945, followed quickly by three more daughters: Suzanne Marie, (Noo Noo), Anne Marie (The Bug) and Elizabeth Antoinette (The Bump, as she was so tiny). When the war ended, the Ribbecks moved their family back home to New Orleans, wanting their children to know their roots and spend time with their grandparents. It was a charmed life, as Anna describes in detail.

“After four daughters, twelve cats, four hamsters, one rooster, six goldfish, one duck, and our fourth daughter’s fourth birthday, we had our first son,” she says, remembering the birth of their much-anticipated boy, Phillip Jr. The Ribbecks were soon blessed with two more sons, Lawrence Roy and Kenneth Ferdinand. The family enjoyed much happiness, until an awful accident turned their world upside down.

It was the summer of 1960, and Phil had promised Anna a relaxing evening. He was cooking chicken livers, her favorite, on the outdoor grill, trying to cheer her spirits. She was grieving for her 92-year-old grandmother’s ill health, was still suffering from mild postpartum depression, and had an awful case of poison ivy that was driving her mad.

But Phil’s plan to lighten Anna’s spirits took a devastating turn when the flames from the barbecue ignited with flammable oil sitting nearby on the patio. A fiery explosion resulted, leaving Anna and Phillip with burns on more than half of their entire bodies.

“We were nearly burned to death,” tells Anna. “Our family was told that we would not make it through the night.”

But the couple’s fortitude and faith pulled them through a grueling six-month hospitalization. It was the Ribbecks’ patience and strength that saw each of them through five operations and skin grafts. And it was ultimately their seven children’s endurance and devotion to one another as they took care of themselves at home that showed Anna and Phil that hope should never be lost.

“I thanked God every day for the strength to survive and for having reared our children strictly enough for them to cope with the circumstances,” says Anna. “The older kids knew how to cook, sew, operate the house, care for the little ones, and keep the yard beautifully manicured. My strict German upbringing had provided security for my kids. When faced with that horrible tragedy, they learned how to become strong little women and men.”

Under such bleak circumstances, most other women would have wallowed in self-pity. Not Anna. She still looks back on the ordeal and thanks God for her good fortune. She doesn’t speak much of what must have been excruciating pain, but she does recall how beautifully her room smelled of get-well flowers, and how the hospital had shelving built into her room to hold all the floral arrangements that arrived almost daily. An eternal optimist, Anna never dwells on the horrible aspects of their hospitalization, yet she does remember the wonderful meals that were brought in for her and her husband, many of which were prepared by their good friend René Galatoire, of the famous Galatoire’s restaurant. And she is still amazed at the kindness shown by Phil’s colleagues at Exxon, who kept his job waiting for his return. It is with a touch of pride that Anna recalls the familiar scene of Phil conducting business conferences from his hospital bed.

With great joy, Anna and Phil finally returned home, although they still had an uphill climb back to full recovery. The pair needed nurses around the clock to give physical therapy, as they had to learn to walk and use their limbs again.

“After two years, we felt able to maneuver in the mainstream of life,” recalls Anna. “And when I became pregnant, we decided that everything must be in working order!” Anna nicknamed that last son, Keith Joseph, the Fire Baby. The name is fitting, not only because of the circumstances, but also for the bright red hair that crowned his head, unlike any of his sisters or brothers.

Things seemed to be back on track for the Ribbeck clan, and when Exxon decided to close down operations in New Orleans, the family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee. It was in Memphis that Anna’s life became one of constant activity. She organized garden clubs, hosted the aforementioned television program, headed up school parents’ organizations, became a member of the Altar Guild, gave lectures and book reviews, and served as president of the area’s Newcomer Club. Anna also volunteered many hours to the welfare of the elderly, as vice president of the Ave Maria Guild.

“Life was full, interesting, happy, and ever-changing,” recalls Anna.

But life threw Anna a curve ball once again. Her world was forever changed in an instant when Phil suffered a stroke at the age of fifty. Recuperation required six months in a rehabilitation hospital, and Anna left his side only to return home to sleep. Otherwise, she sat vigilantly from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. every day. She learned so much in that time, not only about how to care for a stroke victim, but how to turn the most bleak of situations into opportunities to grow in faith.

“I learned so much patience in that hospital,” she says. “I befriended the paraplegic patients who came to visit our room. I brought my yarn and crocheted gifts for them all. I learned much about life that I never dreamed of before. We came out of that hospital not only physically helped, but mentally broadened with a better appreciation of life.”

That optimism is never faltering. It is simply a part of Anna’s soul, a special trait that washes over her and enthusiastically spreads to those around her. She is now a widow living in Covington. She works two days a week at her son Kenny’s antique shop in Ponchatoula, and she exercises every day without fail. She plays the organ with ease. Every Christmas, she enjoys spreading cheer in her Santa suit as she visits holiday parties around town. And she still rides in the Krewe of Eve parade in Mandeville during Carnival.
As president of “Friends of Otis House Museum,” Anna helps the board with fundraising efforts.

She serves in a referral group for Latter & Blum Realtors—yes, she was a successful realtor, as well. She still belongs to Town and Country Garden Club. She still delivers lectures to such clubs on gardening. She helps care for her grandchildren, which reminds her of her teaching days. And her composed and graceful nature reminds others of the time she worked as a fashion model for Goldsmith’s department stores in Memphis.

She never misses the annual Ribbeck family reunion in Florida, with all of her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. And she’s a mainstay at the yearly reunion of officers and their wives who were stationed at Camp Abbott in Oregon during the war. In 2001, Anna fell the day before that reunion. She broke her arm and cut her face and nose, yet she drove four days in a cast to meet up with the group in Montana!

She drives an SUV, which may seem an odd choice for an 82-year-old woman, but Anna never did quite fit the mold. Anna is a treasure. She takes hold of life and regards each moment as precious. She has taught others to regard happiness as a fragile gift that should not be taken for granted. She knows that her life has been full—but she remains open to new challenges.

“I’m now trying to realize my life’s ambition, to become a writer. I hope to incorporate the love, the heartache, and the healing that has been woven into my life thus far,” she says. “I am ready to live one day at a time, and give it my very best, with thanks be to God!”

Copyright 2003, M&L Publishing, all rights reserved.