DONALD RIDINGS

Donald J. Ridings, 59, of Arlington, Va., died Tuesday, June 17, 1997, from complications following spinal surgery. He was formerly of Cape Girardeau.

He was born at Arbyrd, son of Gus Hill and Edith Masters Ridings.

Ridings received bachelor and master degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master's degree in city and regional planning from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.

He was a journalist, lawyer and consultant on legal, environmental and public issues. He worked for the Charlotte, N.C., Observer, and the Courier-Journal in Louisville.

Ridings practiced law and served as a senior official in planning and environmental policy for city and county governments in Louisville and Jefferson County, Ky. Most recently he was a private consultant working out of Bradenton, Fla., and Arlington.

Survivors include his wife; Dorothy; two sons, Donald Ridings Jr. of Washington, D.C., Matthew Ridings of Arlington; a sister, Wenona Harrison of Cape Girardeau; two brothers, Dr. Harold Ridings of Cape Girardeau, and Charles Ridings of Austin, Texas.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in Caldwell Chapel at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Inurnment will be in Louisville Seminary Memorial Garden.