Mabel Maxine Hawkins Ryder went peacefully to her heavenly reward at her Scott Depot home on December 12, 2025. Aunt Mabel, as she was known to her family and friends, was 101 years old. She was born August 5, 1924, in Upshur County, West Virginia, a daughter of the late Percy William Hawkins and Alice Chloe (Long) Hawkins.
Mabel graduated from Buckhannon-Upshur High School in 1942 and soon began her career with FMC Corporation in Nitro, West Virginia, where she retired after more than 40 years of service. After completing a battery of tests, she began work as a chemist, excelling in a laboratory role traditionally held by men. She was instrumental in developing a process for the purification of alkaryl phosphates resulting in her inclusion on a patent issued in 1981. At the end of her tenure she was running the lab, supervising and mentoring masters and doctoral graduates from major universities across the country having only completed her High School Diploma.
In 1954, Mabel married the love of her life, Forrest D. “Jack” Ryder, who preceded her in death. She will be laid to rest with a treasured ceramic horse, “Queen of the Night,” a gift from Jack and a reminder of their many travels together.
Mabel was a long-time member of St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in St. Albans, West Virginia, attending faithfully until her health declined. She especially enjoyed the church’s Tasters’ Teas. An accomplished knitter and crocheter, she created numerous Christmas stockings for her extended family, doilies, table coverings, and even a bedspread. She enjoyed wildlife, working in her garden, seeing her family and enjoyed remarkable health for nearly all her long life, happily insisting on mowing her own lawn well into her nineties.
Known for her quick wit, sunny disposition, and resilience, Mabel never allowed circumstances to dictate her demeanor or attitude. Even after breaking her hip at age 97, she amazed her surgeon with her swift recovery and through several health challenges during her last years she retained a positive attitude and grateful perspective, regardless of circumstances.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her beloved sister, Mildred Hawkins Wilson, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Family lore recalls that the sisters often yodeled and sang in harmony with their father.
Aunt Mabel is survived by her nephew, Michael G. (Pam) Wilson of Buckhannon, WV; her niece, Lisa W. (John) Seaborn of Bristol, VA; her great-nephew, M. Todd (Jennifer) Wilson of Cross Lanes, WV; her great-nieces, Nicole C. Kelly of Monroeville, PA, and Madison N. Seaborn of Bristol, TN; and her great-great-nieces and nephews, Aiden, Zoe, and Cooper Wilson of Cross Lanes, WV; Keisha Wilson of Wilmerding PA; Kelsey Wilson of Irwin PA; Connor Kelly of Salt Lake City UT; and Avery Isaacs of Bristol, TN.
She also leaves behind her devoted caregivers, Susan Knight, April Carnes, Kelli Finley, Flossie Sylvester and Lisa Smalley, and dear neighbors, extended family and friends: Ray and Betty Kesling, Richard and Christy Stanley, and Ken Lilly.
Funeral services will be held on December 20, 2025, at 1:00 PM at Bartlett-Nichols Funeral Home in Saint Albans, West Virginia, with interment to follow at Cunningham Memorial Park. Visitation will be from 12:00 PM until service time at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be family and friends.
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