Lester M. Ritter                  

May 13, 1918 - Sept. 19, 2017

SOUTH BEND - The following article was written by Bill Moor in 2009 and was very special to Lester who wanted it used as his obituary:

Les Ritter, a 1937 South Bend Riley graduate, had to grow up quickly. His dad died when he was just 42 years old and when Les was only 18. So as just a teenager, Les took over the family's foundry sand business. “We had it at Magnolia and Ireland Roads,” says Les, now 90. “My dad had inherited it from my grandfather and then I took it over when dad died. I used to deliver six tons of sand at a time in my ton and a half Ford.”

A few years later, Les was driving around in a tank instead of a truck. He was in General George Patton's 3rd Army during World War II. “We were heading for the Battle of the Bulge when the skies cleared and our planes were able to get through,” he says. “I really didn't see any kind of action but I did try to travel as much as I could while I was in Europe.”

After the war, he kept driving, first semi-trucks and then a Transpo bus for 11 years. He obviously always felt comfortable behind the wheel. Then in 1958 when he was 40, he switched careers and started in the engraving department of the South Bend Tribune. Not long after that, he married his second wife, Lois, whom he had met through neighbors. They were married down in her hometown of Stillwell. “Lois was a Quaker and we got married in the Friends Church,” he says. “We continued to go to the Friends Church for years.”

Les was with the Tribune for 25 years and with Lois for almost 50 years. She died just last autumn on Sept. 28. “Sometimes when I fall asleep in my chair and I hear a little noise, I think it is Lois over at the table in her wheelchair,” he says. “I really miss her. I wouldn't have had near as good a life without her.”

Les and Lois moved into the Sanctuary at St. Paul's 10 years ago and Les says the friendly people out there had made it easier to cope with a life without Lois. He has a sister in Phoenix whom they used to visit and a daughter, Kathy Martin, from his first marriage. “She and my granddaughter, Kelley, raise Angora goats out in Colorado,” he says. He also has his cousin's wife, Pat Battles, who lives closeby and checks on him regularly. “She's like my assistant and does a lot for me,” he says.

Les used to like to hunt rabbits but he now lets the good guys and bad guys in the Westerns do all the shooting on TV. “My favorite shows are probably Gunsmoke and Bonanza,” he says with a smile. He has a pair of binoculars in his apartment and watches the birds outside his window, spotting hawks from time to time. He used to be involved in the Audubon Society.

Ready to turn 91 on May 13, Les thinks he has a pretty good shot at making it to 100. And maybe he has the secret formula that will help get him here. “Some of the women here told me about mixing apple juice, grape juice and vinegar together for a drink,” he says. “The vinegar makes it pretty strong.” And that's about the only time that Les is left with a sour taste in his mouth.