Obituary: Adah Jean (Patch) Ginn
Adah Jean Patch Ginn, 96, Dies After Long Life of Family, Friendship and Competition
Scarborough, Maine — Oct. 4, 2026 – Adah Jean Patch Ginn, a beloved mother, grandmother, and lifelong bridge champion, died peacefully in her Scarborough home at the age of 96. Her death follows a period of declining health that she faced with the same strength and determination she had shown throughout her life.
Ginn was born on September 13, 1930, in Bangor, Maine, to Clifford and Jean Spruance Patch. She excelled as a student and athlete at Bangor High School, and earned a place at Wellesley College. Though she left the college before graduating, she married Herb Ginn—her best friend Shirley's brother—after his return from Navy service in Japan and his enrollment at Boston University Law School. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Mark, while living in Boston. After Herb finished law school, they returned to Bangor, where he joined the family business, Fox & Ginn.
In 1955, the Ginnares relocated to Cape Elizabeth, where they raised two daughters, Jean and Tracey, and built a home that would become a center for family celebrations and community ties. Herb and Adah were nationally ranked duplicate bridge players, traveling across the country for tournaments and maintaining an almost weekly rhythm of play. Their competitive spirit extended beyond the card table: the pair were adventurous travelers, skiing at Sugarloaf every winter, and often arriving in foreign cities with only a National Geographic map and a sense of direction.
Her husband, Herb, survived Adah’s death. He had been her partner of 70 years. Their son Mark, Herb’s brother Clifford, and Herb’s sister Jean predeceased Adah. She was survived by her daughters, Grandchildren and 19 great‑grandchildren. The family also acknowledges the caregivers who had become an integral part of her extended family, enabling her to remain in the home she loved until the end.
The family will hold a funeral service for Adah on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 11 a.m. at Black Point Congregational Church in Scarborough. Those who wish to honor her memory are asked to make donations to either the Ginn Family Scholarship at the Maine Community College System or the Adah Patch Ginn & Clifford Spruance Patch Scholarship at the University of Maine System, rather than sending flowers.
Adah’s life, as described by relatives, was “richly lived”—filled with family, friendship, competition, travel, laughter, and adventure. She left a legacy that will continue to inspire her grandchildren, great‑grandchildren, and the many friends who shared her spirited outlook on life.
