Emma Jane Busbey Ditman born on November 13th, 1933  at home on her parents’ Laurel, MD farm.  She died peacefully on November 8, 2019 with family around her.

Emma was the beloved wife of Joseph McGill Ditman(deceased) and mother to Mary Rebecca Xenos, Ellen Ruth Richmond-Hearty, Liana Louise Shrader, Joseph McGill Lewis Ditman, John William Ditman, James Andrew Ditman, Paul Frances Ditman (deceased), Jane Marie Goode and Charles Thomas Ditman. as well as grandmother to Stradley (deceased), Joshua, Shenandoah, Daniel, Margaret, John, Conner, Peter, Conner, Stig, Line, Thomas, Suzanne, Mary, Victoria, Seth, and Nathaniel, and great-grandmother to Parker, Avery, Sierra, Orion, Brianna, Caroline and Evelyn.  Emma loved being a grandmother and enjoyed spending time with her many grandchildren. 

She earned a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola College while raising her nine children and worked for the Montgomery County, MD Mental Health Department, later opening her own practice.  Her love of all things tech led her to teach herself computer programming. She was instrumental in the development of in-house software for InterFaith Clothing Center, Audubon Naturalist Society, Whole Foods Market, the Washington Post and others. 

Emma loved genealogy and was instrumental in finding the identities of the Hunley Submarine crew. She provided definitive genealogical and DNA proof that her great-great-uncle Joseph F. Ridgaway was a member of the crew, appeared on a nationally televised National Geographic program that explored the forensic investigation of the Confederate submarine, and participated in a national memorial event in Charleston, SC.

A dynamic, intelligent woman who was devoted to her family, Emma was moral, honest, generous of spirit and kind of heart. Her contributions to her family and community will live on after her, and she will be sorely missed.

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