A funeral Mass for Sister Martha Ritter was celebrated Jan. 25 at Nazareth Living Center Chapel. Sister Martha died Jan. 22. She was 94 and had been a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet for 75 years.
Born in St. Louis on Sept. 14, 1922, Sister Martha entered the Sisters of St. Joseph community in 1940, the day after her 18th birthday, and made final vows in 1946. She received a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College in 1958. In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, she taught at St. Vincent de Paul Grade School (1943-46), Holy Name Grade School (1961-62) and All Saints Grade School (1965-72, including a stint as principal). She also taught in Illinois, Michigan and Georgia.
After a career in education, she was parish work coordinator at All Saints (1972-79), resource center coordinator at St. Thomas Aquinas High School (1979-1986) and alumni coordinator at Aquinas/Mercy High School (1986-92). Starting in 1992, she served roles in the St. Joseph Provincial House before moving in 1998 into Nazareth Living Center in a ministry of prayer and presence. She's survived by a niece, Sister Rosemarie McKenna, CSJ. Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery