Mary Ethel
(Wilkinson) Ritz
Mary Ethel (Wilkinson) Ritz, 84, of Lemont Furnace, Pa., passed away surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday,… (Wilkinson) Ritz
Mary Ethel (Wilkinson) Ritz, 84, of Lemont Furnace, Pa., passed away surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, May 7, 2008, in Uniontown Hospital. She joins her beloved husband, Joseph R. Ritz Sr., who recently passed away on Thursday, May 1, 2008. They would have celebrated 62 years of marriage on Sunday, May 18, 2008.
She was born on August 17, 1923, in Chase City, Virginia, daughter of Richard Franklin Wilkinson and Mary Ethel (Nemeth) Wilkinson.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a brother, Richard Franklin Wilkinson Jr., and a sister, Rose Almond Wilkinson Bracksma.
Mary Ethel began her career as a telephone operator and later became a supervisor for Bell Telephone Company in Virginia. After raising five children, she returned to work at the Fayette County Courthouse as a telephone operator for several years and then as a telephone operator for Gallatin National Bank where she faithfully worked for more than thirty years, until her retirement.
She was a member of Saint Therese de Lisieux Roman Catholic Church for over 60 years and Saint Therese Altar Society. She was a wonderful and loving wife and mother!
Left to cherish her memory are five children: JoAnn M. Ritz, Rose Marie Tobak and husband Michael J. Tobak Jr., Janet E. Ritz, Nicholas J. Ritz and Joseph R. Ritz Jr. and wife Susan Fike Ritz; five grandchildren: Michael J. Tobak III, Jeffrey A. Tobak, Joseph J. Ritz III, Jeremy A. Ritz Colbert and Augusta Leigh Ritz Hudson; eight great-grandchildren; sisters and three brothers: Dorothy Wilkinson Harlow, Joseph Nemeth Wilkinson, Edward Thomas Wilkinson, John Carlton Wilkinson and Nancy Ann Wilkinson Frame; and many nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received in the STEPHEN R. HAKY FUNERAL HOME INC., 603 North Gallatin Avenue Extension, Uniontown, Pa., today, May 11, 2008, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. and Monday, May 12, 2008, until 9:00 a.m. when Prayers of Transfer will be said.
A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 9:30 a.m. in Saint de Lisieux Therese Roman Catholic Church, Mill Street, with the Rev. Father Kenneth G. Zaccagnini, V.F., as Celebrant.
Entombment will follow at Sylvan Heights Cemetery Chapel of Memories Mausoleum.
Memorial contributions may be made to Father Clark, Church of the Madonna, Main Street, Cardale, PA 15420 or to the American Diabetes Association.
Saint Therese Altar Society will recite the Rosary in the Funeral Home this evening at 7:30 p.m.
Your personal written tributes and memories are welcomed and encouraged at www.hakyfuneralhome.com