Georgia "Faye" Ritchie

Georgia “Faye” Ritchie

She let the puppets do the talking
Died July 9th, 2025, aged 94

“Come here, let me tell you what Ritchie did the other day…”

That was how Faye would often begin a conversation. Not with small talk, but with a tale already in motion—half-whispered, half-giggled, and altogether irresistible. By the time she reached the punchline (and there was always a punchline), her audience would be laughing through tears, whether they were pew-warmers at Sunday School, campers on sunburned benches, or her own bewildered grandchildren.

Faye was a born entertainer. Her medium: puppets, parables, pranks. Her mission: to make you laugh just before she made you think—and then, just maybe, to help you see Jesus hiding in plain sight.

She didn’t just tell stories; she animated them. Most often, she let her puppets do the talking—rowdy, witty, small hand-puppets and big-eyed sidekicks who asked all the questions children were too shy to voice themselves. She didn’t often stand in front of classrooms or behind pulpits. She crouched beside characters with googly eyes and feisty mouths, bantering with them until entire rooms of squirming children fell silent in rapt attention. The stories stuck. The lessons lingered.

She learned ventriloquism from Paul Winchell—yes, that Paul Winchell, of Jerry Mahoney fame—and went on to customize her own characters with flair and mischief. Once, she got in trouble for repurposing her own mother’s hair clippings to give one puppet a snazzier coiffure. No one was surprised. She had a habit of crossing lines in the service of a good gag.

Her stage was everywhere. Parks and sidewalks, classrooms and camps, Sunday schools and living rooms. In the mid-60s, she began leading Good News Clubs with Child Evangelism Fellowship, first outdoors, then after-school programs. Out came the flannel boards, the cookies, the gospel. Kids came back in droves. By the 1970s, she was traveling with her daughter to lead week-long youth camps in California and Arizona, combining magic tricks, songs, skits, and scripture in a curriculum all her own. Between camp meetings and real estate deals, Faye was also co-pastoring churches in Canoga Park, Grover Beach, and Simi Valley with her husband, Reynolds “Ritchie” Ritchie, whom she married on Groundhog Day in Akron, Ohio.

She never stopped adding tricks to her bag. In her fifties, she took up Spanish. Never content with just the coursework, she immersed herself: reading Spanish-language Bibles, chatting with anyone who’d humor her, and eventually traveling with her granddaughter to an orphanage in Tijuana, where she engaged children in their own language—with her own puppets, naturally.

Musically, she was a one-woman band: organ, accordion, mandolin, harmonica, harpsichord—each one pressed into service of a story. Faye had a way of animating objects: puppets, yes, but also the instruments, and even her words. The world wasn’t so much a stage for her, but a prop room—raw material for God’s truth, shaped by joy and play.

She was born Georgia Faye Dixon in Egypt, Arkansas, in 1931, the daughter of Littie Arizona Dixon, and one of seven siblings. She moved west in 1960 with Reynolds, Rod, and Tom in tow; Jackie was born soon after. They eventually retired to Arroyo Grande, California, where Faye, widowed in 2020, remained active in ministry until her final days—recruiting volunteers, mentoring leaders, and, of course, telling stories.

She leaves behind a chorus of descendants who remember her as the matriarch of the family: Rod Ritchie and his wife Debbie of Simi Valley; Tom Ritchie and his wife Karna of Simi Valley; Jackie Ritchie of Arroyo Grande. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren—are living proof of her legacy. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Elaine Hardwick, and her large extended family and friends, of Carlisle, Kentucky. She was the last of the seven siblings in the Dixon family.

Faye taught them all, in one way or another, that laughter and faith could coexist. That puppets sometimes told the truth better than people did. And that the best evangelists don’t preach—they play.

She is survived by her child Rod Ritchie and his wife Debbie of Simi Valley; 

Grandchild: Ryan Ritchie and wife Kalynn of Arroyo Grande

Great grandchildren: Kai Ritchie, Kalani Ritchie and wife Olivia (Great granddaughter-Lily Ritchie), Kash Ritchie

Grandchild: Joshua Ritchie and wife Anna of Costa Mesa

Great grandchildren: River Ritchie, Finn Ritchie, Axel Ritchie, Daisy-Ann Ritchie. Preceded in death by great granddaughter Goldie Ritchie (Josh and Anna’s daughter)

She is survived by her child Tom Ritchie and his wife Karna of Simi Valley; 

Grandchild: Bayley Stewart of Simi Valley

Great grandchildren: Serenity Stewart, Viannah Stewart, Genesis Stewart, Raelynn Stewart

Grandchild: Audrey Rooke and her husband Evan Rooke

Great grandchildren: Rah Finley and Doc Rooke. 

She is survived by her child Jackie Ritchie of Arroyo Grande, California

Grandchild: Wesley Bancroft and Amina Bancroft of Santa Paula, California.

Great grandchildren: Casimir, Miette, Errol, Petra, Aesop, Remedios, Vito, Frieda, Alba

Grandchild: Bethany Zumbado and her husband Jesse Zumbado of Arroyo Grande, California

Great grandchildren: Lando and Elio

Grandchild: Matt Bancroft and his wife Jody Bancroft

Great grandchildren: Amber and Ethan

Grandchild: Luke Bancroft and his wife Rhiannon Bancroft

Great grandchildren: Stella and Willow

Preceded in death by grandsons Dustin Bancroft and Greg Bancroft

Services will be Thursday, July 31 at 1:00 pm 

Marshall Spoo Sunset Funeral Chapel

1239 Longbranch Avenue

Grover Beach, CA 93433

(805) 489-5552

A time for sharing your personal memories of her will be at this service. There will be a brief graveside service at 2:30 pm to follow. 

Arroyo Grande Cemetery

895 El Camino Real

Arroyo Grande, CA

Fellowship and food following, at a local Arroyo Grande park, will be announced. 

Donations in her honor may be made to:

Child Evangelism Fellowship - San Luis Obispo, California

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