Mr. Albert Ritchie, age 83, of Knoxville, Tennessee passed away on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
Bert was born September 29, 1939, in Charlottesville, Virginia, the son of John “Jack” Ritchie and Sarah Wallace Ritchie and brother to John (Virginia) Ritchie. Bert attended Episcopal High School in Virginia, Class of 1957, and went on to Yale University where he received his B.A. summa cum laude in 1961. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and St. Anthony Hall Fraternity, the editor of the 1961 Class Book and in Army ROTC. From there, he attended the University of Virginia Law School where he received his LL. B. in 1964. Bert was a member of the Order of the Coif and the Raven Society and the Editor-in-Chief of Virginia Law Review. He was an attorney with Sidley Austin Burgess & Smith (now Sidley Austin LP) in Chicago from June 1964 until retirement on December 31,1999. Bert served as an Infantry Officer and rose to Captain from 1965-1967. During that time, he was with the 7th Infantry Division at Camp Kaiser, Korea from 1965-1966 and at Third US Army Headquarters at Fort McPherson, Atlanta from 1966-1967, where he met his future wife, Jennie. Bert and Jennie were married April 29,1967 at Church Street Methodist Church in Knoxville. He was a member of American College of Real Estate Lawyers, Lawyers Club of Chicago where he served as President from 1986-1987. Bert served as Chicago Legal Aid Bureau Chairman from 1989-1990 and the University of Virginia Law School Alumni Association President from 1993-1995. Once retired, in Knoxville he worked for Dewhirst Properties and joined the Board of Visitors for the University of Tennessee College of Arts and Sciences.
Bert is preceded in death by his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Mary and Joseph Sullivan. He will be greatly missed by his wife, Jennie; children, John Ritchie, Mary Ritchie Miller (Randy); grandchildren, Sally and Katie Ritchie, Charlie and Morgan Miller; nieces and nephews, Thomas Ritchie (Blair), Sarah Conrad (Lance), Jennie, Ross and Charlie Sullivan and their children; special cousins, Martha Pellett (Tracy) and Margaret Goodman.
A graveside service will be held for Bert on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 1pm at Whispering Waters inside Berry Highland Memorial Cemetery.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.berryhighlandmemorial.com for the Ritchie family.
Published by Chicago Tribune on Oct. 16, 2022.