Shirley Rickards Wilber passed away on July 22, 2012 at Glen Ridge Nursing Care Center in Medford, Mass.

Born in Kutztown in 1926, Ricky studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and toured with regional theatre companies. She played Emily in a production of “Our Town” with Jack Klugman, and was in the Irish Players’ Off-Broadway production of “Playboy of the Western World” with Helena Carroll. Her appreciation and knowledge of jazz were inspired by hearing many of the great jazz musicians of the era.

In 1948 she married clarinet/soprano sax player Bob Wilber; they divorced in 1977.