Retired SMPD officer Riddering dead at 53
By Staff



A retired Santa Maria police corporal, who was active in the war against drugs, died on Thanksgiving after a 13-year battle with a debilitating disease.

Mark Louis Riddering of Nipomo, who worked for the department from 1989 to 1998, died Thursday from complications of Lou Gehrig’s disease, the police department announced Friday.

Riddering, 53, had battled Lou Gehrig’s disease, otherwise known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a fatal degenerative disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association.

He was diagnosed in 1995; symptoms forced him into medical retirement three years later.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at First Christian Church, 1550 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. Burial will follow at the Santa Maria Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mark Riddering fund at any branch of Rabobank, and the money will go to charities close to Riddering’s heart, his family said.

Arrangements are under the direction of Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary and Crematory.