February 1, 2010, Kenneth Lamson Ritchie, 92.8 years of age, resident of Newbury Court, Concord formerly of Goodman’s Hill, Sudbury of heart failure at home in the company of his loving children, Rebecca Cutting of Sudbury and Duncan Ritchie of E.Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Ken is survived by his wife of 64 years, Harriett Parrott Ritchie, resident of Concord and by three grandchildren: Carolee Van Couyghen of Providence, Rhode Island; Alex Ritchie of E. Greenwich and Benjamin Cutting of Sudbury. He is also survived by his sister, Beatrice Haartz Page and her husband, Milton Page of Lincoln and her children, Eric Haartz of Concord (Denise & grand niece Deborah); Christopher Haartz (Ann) of New Hampshire and Betz Haartz (Walter) of Vermont. Other surviving family are his sister-in-law, Jean Parrott Moeller of Michigan and her children, Andrea, Garre, Rick, Tim, Kathy, Lynn, Matt and Amy, his nieces and nephews.
Ken was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to May Lamson and Kenneth Peirson Ritchie and worked in his father’s hardware store as a youth. He attended Holderness School in NH and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1939 (member of Kappa Kappa Kappa) where he became close friends with John C. Haartz whom he introduced to his sister, Beatrice. John and Beatrice later became husband and wife.
While working in a machine shop in Warren, Michigan he met his future wife, Harriett, at the post office where she worked. After enlisting in the Coast Guard he sent a proposal of marriage to Harriett which she accepted. They were married June 1945 and spent their honeymoon travelling cross-country to Whidbey Island in Puget Sound in Washington state where he was stationed. As a radioman he was charged with monitoring enemy submarine activity off the coast.
Following his discharge Harriett and Ken moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where Ken attended the University for a Masters in Economics with an eye to becoming a professor. While there his brother-in-law John C. Haartz offered him a job at the Haartz-Mason fabric coating company in Newton Lower Falls which he readily accepted starting as an inspector of automotive fabric. Over time he became a salesman and the business moved to Acton, Massachusetts as the Haartz Corporation, a manufacturer of vinyl coated fabrics for General Motors and other auto manufacturers. In the late 1960’s Ken took the lead in developing and piloting a new way of melding vinyl to cloth, known as an “extruder” which eased production and improved the product. Ken became the President of the Haartz Corporation and,upon retirement, the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
An avid skier Ken remained active into his 80’s, skiing in Utah and heli-skiing in the Bugaboo Mountains of British Columbia with his good friends Mac Harring and Brewster Conant of Acton. He was also an accomplished ice hockey player, baseball pitcher and golfer and was on those teams during high school and college as well as the Dartmouth and Holderness football teams. Ken was also active in many civic organizations including the American Red Cross, Sudbury’s Industrial Development Board, Trustees of the Goodnow Library and a supporter of Sudbury’s historic Hosmer House where Harriett was a docent.
A memorial service will be held at the First Parish Unitarian Church of Sudbury, in Sudbury Center on March 13th at 10 am, Reverend Katie Lee Crane presiding. All are welcome to share remembrances.
In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations in his memory to: the Goodnow Library Foundation, Inc.; c/o Goodnow Library; 21 Concord Road; Sudbury, MA 01776 or
to the E.B. Hosmer Fund; c/o Sudbury Historic Commission; 299 Concord Road; Sudbury, MA 01776.
Interment will be private.