Jean Ritchey Ross of Oak Bluffs, a beloved member of one of the oldest summer families on East Chop, died at age 90 on February 29, 2020 in South Yarmouth, Me. Her family first summered on Martha’s Vineyard in 1888 and were original members of the East Chop Beach Club and East Chop Tennis Club; as a fourth-generation resident, she was a lifelong member of both clubs.

Jean Ritchey was born in New York city to Norton V. and Ruth Brooks Ritchey. Her parents met on East Chop in the 1920s. Her father was president of the international division of Allied Artists, a motion picture company, and her mother was a homemaker. Jean grew up in Darien, Conn. After attending Low Heywood School (now King School) in Connecticut and Abbott Academy (now Phillips Academy) in Andover, she graduated from Barnard College of Columbia University with a bachelor’s degree and later earned a master’s degree, also from Columbia.

Jean was a popular, modest woman who never had a mean thing to say. She was liked by virtually all who knew her, and her children often heard her many friends refer to her by saying “she’s my favorite!” Jean was a fitness buff long before it was in vogue and was active in swimming, tennis and sailing all her life. She was frequently seen riding her bicycle, milk crate secured to the back, to pick up mail and groceries on Circuit Avenue. While struggling with physical challenges in her last few years, she was the picture of good health for most of her life and completed her daily quarter-mile swim from the beach club to the Oak Bluffs harbor jetty and back well into her 80s.

Her first marriage was to Douglas A. Bora, Sr., a Realtor, in 1951 in Rowayton, Conn. he subsequently married Wallace C. Ross, a prominent yachtsman, in 1978. Jean and Wally lived in Darien and together ran Tortola Yacht Charters and Ross Marine; they later divided their time between East Chop and Vero Beach, Fla.

Jean was a longtime member of United Church of Rowayton and superintendent of Sunday school there for many years. She was also a member of Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs and wrote the weekly church bulletins for many years. Jean volunteered for Habitat for Humanity and Dukes County Historical Society and was a board member of the East Chop Beach Club Board for more than 10 years. Jean also was a member of Edgartown Yacht Club, Edgartown Golf Club, Noroton Yacht Club in Darien, New York Yacht Club and The Moorings Yacht Club in Vero Beach.

Jean is survived by her two loving children, Carolyn B. Gould of Concord, Mass. and Douglas A. Bora, Jr. of Darien, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband and her brother, John B. (Jack) Ritchey.

A memorial service will be held on Martha’s Vineyard in the summer. Donations may be made to The Parkinson’s Foundation, www.parkinson.org, or The Michael J. Fox Foundation, www.michaeljfox.org.