John R. Ritter, 62,
of Neffs died April 16, 2013 at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia where he
received the very best of care for complications related to a bone marrow
transplant for cancer.
John was born and
raised as one of a family that settled in the Lehigh Valley in 1731. Clarence
and Arline Ritter, his parents, eventually moved to Allentown’s West End where
he attended Muhlenberg Elementary School and Raub Junior High and graduated from
Allen High School in 1968. He was proud
of his Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, a student of his family’s history and a
believer in the values he was taught.
He attended Amherst
College in Massachusetts, later graduated from East Stroudsburg University, worked
at various jobs and then decided to teach high school English.
He loved his students and worked hard to create a caring and
challenging learning environment for them. He retired in 2010 from Parkland
High School after teaching for 30 years.
Because he cared about his colleagues and his
profession, he was active in the Parkland Education Association as a building
representative, negotiator and president. He was also active in the
Pennsylvania State Education Association.
John’s interest in politics went far beyond
education. He believed that Pennsylvania needed common sense solutions to
problems that would preserve the quality of life that he experienced while
growing up and so he ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the
187th district.
He loved the
outdoors, especially a family home in the Poconos and his big back yard where
he could care for a large garden
Survivors
John is survived by
his wife Lynn (nee Burner); sons Dr. Seth and wife Rebecca Taylor of Pittsburgh
and granddaughters Annabel and Eliza; Michael and wife Meredith Mulcahy of
Boston, MA; and Zacchary and Sharon Tang of Baltimore, MD.
He is also survived by his brother Dr. Robert C. Ritter and wife Susan
of Viola, ID and their sons Joshua and Lincoln of Brooklyn, NY.
He is survived by the loving Burner family; father-in-law
and mother-in-law George and Marie; brothers-in-law George Robert, Harry, and
Gary and their families.
And he is survived by his aunt Miriam (Unangst) Ritter and
cousin Robert V. Ritter and wife Susan and their children Robert V. Ritter III
and Sara, all of the Lehigh Valley. Cousins Judy Labenburg and Carl Schmoyer, wife Deborah and
their family mourn John’s death.
Services
Friends and family
may visit from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 19th at Trexler Funeral Home at 1625
Highland Street, Allentown and from 9 to 10 a.m. the next day. The service will begin at 10a.m. in the
funeral home following the calling hour. Interment will take place at St.
Paul’s United Church of Christ Cemetery in Trexlertown after the service. Online
condolences may be made at www.legacy.com/obituaries/mcall/.
Contributions
In lieu of flowers,
contributions may be sent to Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 Hamilton St.,
Allentown, PA 18102.
what a beautiful obit. ah i shall celebrate the life of such an incredible man. What gifts he gave us! what an incredible difference he made in the lives of so many. the heavens are rejoicing in his return home. those of us left behind shall find glorious comfort in oh so many endearing memories. May God bless and comfort, lynn, michael, zacc, seth....and family
ReplyDelete