Jessica (nee Rattray) Nussdorfer

Nussdorfer1922~2019Jessica Elizabeth Rattray Nussdorfer (8 February 1922-26 December 2019) was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the only surviving child of Walter Carleton Rattray of Bangor, Maine and Laura Stephanie West of Oak Park. She grew up in nearby River Forest and attended St. Katherine’s School in Davenport, Iowa where she was voted the most popular girl in the junior class; she was also secretary of the Athletic Association and editor of the yearbook. She entered Vassar College in fall 1940 where she majored in European history, studying with Mildred Campbell and Evalyn Clark. After graduating in April 1944 she took a job at the State Department; one of her assignments was to accompany the Allied Mission supervising elections in newly democratic Greece in February 1946. After summer school at Oxford University, she enrolled in a master’s degree program in International Relations at the University of Chicago. While there she met fellow student Adrian Gips Nussdorfer (20 Nov 1923-30 Aug 2019) whom she married on 25 September 1948. After the births of their first two children, Jessica and her family and their Scottish border collie moved to Zurich, Switzerland where their third child was born. Returning to Chicago in 1953 Jessica and Adrian built a house in the Lake Michigan shore community of Ogden Dunes, Indiana. There they spent five happy years enjoying a friendly group of young families and many days on the beach.In 1959 the family moved to an old house with a barn near Media, Pennsylvania where their fourth child was born. There Jessica was able to develop her greatest passion, horses. A skilled rider from childhood, she now welcomed the first of a long series of beloved horses and ponies. For decades Jessica gave horseback riding lessons, was an active volunteer for the Rose Tree Pony Club and supported her daughter Emily’s equestrian career. In later years Jessica had the great pleasure of taking several horseback trips to Europe, including France, Portugal, and Ireland and attending the races in Saratoga. In addition to riding, Jessica enjoyed tennis and skiing, and she accompanied Adrian on trips to Baxter State Park in Maine where they fished in Daicey Pond in the shadow of Mount Katahdin. She also loved traveling to national parks in the United States. Jessica kept lifelong ties with the group of friends from Vassar College ’44 who roomed on the 2nd floor of North building, which have continued into the second generation. Jessica’s parents and grandparents were Episcopalians, and she was baptized and married in Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park. In Indiana, she belonged to Christ Church, Gary, and after moving to Pennsylvania she joined Christ Church, Media, which she attended weekly until she could not go out any longer. She knew most of the Episcopal hymns by heart. She is survived by her four children, Laurie (Nicholas Adams), Adrian Gips Jr., Barbara (Gary Eblen), and Emily (Kenneth Higginbotham), as well as two grandchildren, Michael and Jessica Eblen (Ryan Dunnavant). Donations in Jessica’s memory may be made to the non-profit equestrian program for inner-city youth “Work to Ride Inc.,” Chamounix Equestrian Center, 98 Chamounix Drive, Philadelphia PA 19131 or to the Residents’ Assn. of Lima Estates Appreciation Fund for caregivers, 411 N. Middletown Road, Media PA 19063.