Age 83
With her delightful sense of humor and generous sharing of her gifts of wisdom and compassion, Sister Ritamary touched the lives of many students, parishioners and elderly people with the depth of her spirit and the twinkle in her eye.
Born in Los Angeles, Sister Ritamary graduated from Bishop Conaty High School, the first Archdiocesan Catholic girls’ high school in Los Angeles, California. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in Burlingame, California, at the age of 18, following in the footsteps of her sister Corita who entered six years prior.
Ritamary earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Russell College in Burlingame, California, and a master’s degree in education from San Diego State College in San Diego, California. For 18 years she taught elementary school in the Bay Area and in Southern California. She served as vice-principal for six of those years, three at St. Aloysius School in Los Angeles, California, and three at St. Bruno School in Whittier, California. In the 1980s she ministered as the principal at St. Pius X School in Santa Fe Springs, California, for seven years.
Next, she earned a master’s degree in religious studies and a certificate in pastoral counseling from Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, California. She provided pastoral services especially to the elderly, as the director of adult education at San Antonio de Padua in Anaheim Hills, California, for one year and as the director of pastoral services and bereavement at St. Justin Martyr Parish in Anaheim, California, for nine years. She was also honored and challenged to participate in the former Burlingame Regional Community leadership structure as a sister liaison. In her later years, Ritamary enjoyed crafts, gathering with family and friends, and country line dancing.