Victor Emanuel Ritter, 83, passed away Friday, August 20, 2021, at the
Good Samaritan Home-Decatur County in Oberlin, Kansas. Victor was born
on January 16, 1938, on the family farm west of Dresden, Kansas to
Bernard “Ben” and Philomena “Minnie” (Kruse) Ritter. Victor was the
tenth of eleven children and grew up on the family farm and attended
Leoville High School graduating with the class of 1956. Victor was very
athletic and participated in baseball and basketball. He was very
talented in baseball and could have gone on to play after he was out of
high school.
Victor’s parents helped all their boys get set up in farming. They
were in the process of helping Victor and his brother, Dennis, get
started in farming, when Dennis, at a very young age, was diagnosed with
leukemia and passed away. Victor and his Dad finished establishing the
farming operation west of Jennings, Kansas which is still owned and
operated by Victor’s sons, Dennis Ritter and Craig Ritter. On April 20,
1963, Victor and Frieda Martin were united in marriage at the St.
Patrick Catholic Church in McCook, Nebraska. To this union, six
children were born. They were later divorced on July 8, 1994.
Victor and Frieda raised six children on the farm. Victor was a
rancher and a farmer raising cattle, hogs and crops. A hobby he enjoyed
pursuing was dowsing. He would use divining rods to locate water or
oil. He was very successful at this and many water wells and some oil
wells were established because of his dowsing. Victor was a quiet man
who didn’t share his emotions. It was very hard for him to find the
words to let people know how much he appreciated what they had done for
him or his family. Victor was raised to work hard and be a faithful and
devout follower of Christ. He was a member of the Immaculate
Conception Catholic Church in Leoville, Kansas. His family was
important to him and he would light up when his grandchildren were
around. Although he is gone, his memory will live deeply in the hearts
of those who loved him.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Bernard “Ben” and Philomena
“Minnie” Ritter; brothers, Cletus Ritter, Raymond Ritter, Seraphim
Ritter, Francis Ritter, Sylvester Ritter and Dennis Ritter; sister,
Alfreda Colling; and grandson, Atkins Clydesdale.
Victor is survived by six children, Donna Marie Mangold of Abilene,
Kansas, Dennis Lawrence Ritter, Phillip Emanuel Ritter (June) and Craig
Matthew Ritter all of Jennings, Kansas, Victoria Ann Bainter (David) and
Teresa Joanne Clydesdale (Randy) all of Norton, Kansas; sisters,
Florence Thompson of Hoxie, Kansas, Sister Delores Ritter of Maryknoll,
New York, and Bernadine Spresser of Leoville, Kansas; grandchildren,
Alexis Govert (Jake), Seth Ritter, Joshua Ritter, Zachary Bainter, Troy
Bainter (Haley), Abby Bainter, Darcy Hager (Austin), Mackenzie
Clydesdale, Derek Clydesdale and Luke Clydesdale; great-grandchildren,
Trenton Smith, Amara Govert, Dawson and Raegan Bainter, Brantley, Logan
and Mackenna Hager; three step-grandchildren, ten
step-great-grandchildren; along with many nieces and nephews, relatives
and friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, August 26, 2021,
10:00 A.M. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Leoville,
Kansas with interment to follow the service in the Calvary Cemetery in
Leoville. Visitation will be held Wednesday, August 25, 2021 from 1:00
P.M. until 7:00 P.M. with the Vigil Service and Rosary starting at 7:00
P.M. all being held at the Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home in Hoxie, Kansas.
Memorials are suggested to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Leoville. Memorials may be sent in care of Mickey-Leopold Funeral Home, PO Box 987, Hoxie, Kansas 67740. Words of comfort for the family may be left at www.mickeyleopoldfuneral.com.