* John Anthony Ridley, 60; College Instructor

John Anthony Ridley, who taught the culture and language of Latin America to hundreds of Ventura College students, died July 21 after a brief illness. He was 60.

Ridley joined the staff of Ventura College in 1968 after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and teaching high school and junior college. Ridley’s colleagues said that even after his 23 years, he was a tireless and dedicated instructor.

“I think his finest accomplishment was his ability to show enthusiasm for the students and for the language on such a consistent basis,” said Ventura College Spanish teacher Maricarmen Ohara. “He never tired of it.”

Students remembered Ridley as an impeccable dresser with a great sense of humor and a strong desire to share his knowledge of Latin America with his students. Ridley spent time with each class watching slides from his travels to Central and South America, said Barry Punzal, a student in the last class Ridley taught before he retired in 1991.

“He really took pride in those slides,” Punzal said. “We were not just learning Spanish; we were learning about the people that spoke it and the places where it was spoken.”

Ridley was born in Plymouth, Mich., on Jan. 4, 1933, and moved with his family to Southern California. Before teaching in Ventura, he worked for the U.S. Information Service in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

He is survived by his wife, Lauren, son Eric, and sisters Geraldine Ridley Paxton of Escondido and Lois Ridley Kleinschmidt of Encinitas. Before his death, Ridley requested that in lieu of services, friends contribute to the Santa Paula Hospice, 121 Davis St., Santa Paula, 93060.