On September 8, 2020 Richard (Rick) Glen Ritenour, loving husband and father, passed away at the age of 64 at his home in Marietta, Georgia after a lengthy and hard-fought battle with cancer.
Rick was born on June 28, 1956, in Anderson, Indiana, to Glen W. and Mary Patricia “Pat” (Hoff) Ritenour.
He spent his childhood, along with his parents and sisters, Nancy and Beth, living in several locations including Indiana, Tennessee, California and Connecticut.
A lifelong Beatles fan, Rick’s love of music, particularly rock ‘n’ roll, began in California when the Beatles hit the airwaves with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Enamored by the disc jockeys on both coasts and after visiting a cousin who worked at a radio station, Rick created his own radio station in the basement of his home in Connecticut. Rick’s pursuit of photography also began at an early age — inspired by his granddad’s and father’s recording of life events in pictures and on 8-millimeter film.
In 1978, immediately after receiving his bachelor’s degree in Radio and Television from Purdue University, Rick joined IBM’s media center in Rochester, Minnesota, as a production assistant, eventually becoming a senior video editor. He relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, when IBM moved the media center there. Rick retired from IBM in 2019, after 41 years with the company.
He married Mary Beth Johnson of Austin, Minnesota, on May 28, 1983 in Rochester, and by the end of that year they had made their home in Marietta. In 1990, they welcomed their only son, Lewis Martin, into their lives.
Rick was preceded in death by his father, Glen; grandparents Lewis B. and Gladys (Cunningham) Hoff; Millard and Nettie (Crane) Ritenour; one uncle and several aunts.
He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 37 years, Mary (Johnson); his son, Lewis and wife Megan; his mother, Pat, of Denver, Colorado; sisters Nancy Foxwell and husband Steve of Marietta, Georgia and Beth English and husband Don of Colorado Springs, Colorado; brothers-in-law Darell Johnson, Cold Spring, Minnesota; Duane Johnson and wife Cathy, Carmel, Indiana; Dan and wife Emma of San Jose, California; sisters-in-law Lyn McCoy of Fountain Hills, Arizona; Kathy Johnson of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, a private memorial service will be held at H. M. Patterson and Son-Canton Hill Chapel, Marietta, Georgia. We encourage you to celebrate Rick’s life in your own way.
The family would like to express their profound gratitude to Dr. Don Shaffer, MD, FACP, and the nurses and staff of Northwest Georgia Oncology Center, Marietta, Georgia.
If desired, friends may make memorial donations to Loving Arms Cancer Outreach, 995 Roswell St. NE, Suite 100, Marietta. GA 30060, or online at https://lovingarms.support/.
