Juliette Cherie Redington

Juliette Cherie Redington, 96 1/2, who will be remembered for her profound graciousness, kindness and "joie de vivre", died at home with her children by her side, Monday, October 28, 2013 in Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona. "Life is a banquet" and Cherie enjoyed it to the fullest. She was born May 6, 1917 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, at the ancestral home of the Rathbone family, to U.S. Army Major Harlan Leslie Mumma and Juliette Rathbone Mumma, Cherie was the firstborn of three children. She grew up as an "Army Brat" in a close-knit loving family that traveled the world and instilled in her a life-long love for exotic places and adventure. Her formative years were greatly influenced by her time in the Panama Canal Zone and West Point, New York. These romantic places, among other foreign lands, served as the basis for a treasure trove of lifetime stories for her friends and family. In 1938, in New York City, Cherie began dating a young handsome banker and second son of a U.S. Navy Commander. It wasn't long before Cherie and James Henry Redington fell in love and it was an Army-Navy match made in heaven. Jim had to leave Cherie in 1939 when Citibank posted him to a junior executive position in Brazil, but when the bank subsequently granted him permission to marry, Jim immediately sent for Cherie. Saying "goodbye" to her parents and two brothers, she boarded an ocean liner and, alone, set sail to Brazil, for an unknown future in a foreign land, and a fiance' she had not seen in more than a year. Cherie's true grit was at its peak. Cherie loved life and life loved Cherie. She wed Jim in St. Paul's Cathedral in Sao Paulo, Brazil on September 14, 1940 and never looked back. It was a perfect union and she was a loving, faithful and devoted wife for more than 65 years. For twenty years Cherie raised a family in Brazil, which she nurtured, protected, and provided for, until the day she died. She was a "mother" to more than her own children and many, who were comforted by her, knew that they were fortunate to have such a wonderful woman in their lives. She and Jim moved their family back to the United States in 1961, living in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Upon retirement from international banking, they moved to the island of Clearwater Beach, Florida, where they lived for 12 years. They purchased a cabin in Pinetop, Arizona in 1969 as a holiday retreat and, in 1986, they established a permanent Arizona residence in Pinetop Lakes Country Club. Cherie and Jim traveled 6 continents and 73 countries around the world from the Amazon rainforests, to the Inca ruins of Peru, to the temples of Nepal and India, to the fjords of Norway, to the Serengeti plains of Kenya, to the pyramids of Egypt, and many other beautiful, romantic and exotic places. Her final journey was to the White Mountains of Arizona, a place she loved to call "home." Cherie is survived by her 3 adoring children: daughter, Juliette Elizabeth (Jim) Aylor of Pinetop, Arizona; son, James Harlan (Carrol) Redington of Annapolis, Maryland; and son, John Valleau Rathbone (Jill) Redington of Enterprise, Alabama. She is also survived by her 3 grandchildren: John Harlan (Amy) Redington, Leslie Elizabeth (John) Roberts and Nathan Preston Kern; 3 great-granddaughters: Juliette Olivia Roberts, Beatrice Anne Roberts and Catherine Meredith Redington; countless family and friends throughout the world and a driver's license valid until age 100. The memorial service will begin 2:00 P.M., Sunday, November 10, 2013 at Owens Livingston Mortuary - White Mountain Chapel, 320 N. 9th Street in Show Low, Arizona. Memorial contributions, in the memory and honor of Juliette Cherie Redington to the White Mountain Hospice Foundation, P.O. Box 1975, Lakeside, Arizona 85929 have been suggested by her family.