MELVIN LEE RITTER

1937-2018

“Witty… swing man… college bound.” So reads the Fort Hill High School yearbook about Dr. Melvin Lee Ritter, 81, who passed away November 22, 2018 in Houston, TX. Dr. Ritter was a forty-seven year resident of Pearland, TX. Born and raised in Cumberland, MD, he received an undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland and a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Houston in 1969, where he met his wife Carol Kennedy. He worked at NASA during the Apollo years and later at the United States Environmental Protection Agency for forty-two years.

Melvin is preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Leila (Shriver) Ritter and brother, Jack Ritter.

Dr. Ritter is survived by his wife of fifty-three years, Carol Anne Ritter and his six children and their spouses; daughters: Rebecca and David Presas, Rachel and Karl Schmidt, Dr. Ruth Ritter and Scott Young, and Dr. Deborah Ritter and Dr. Kevin Vander Schel; sons: David Ritter and Dr. Rommana Aziz, and Daniel and Yollie Ritter. He has eighteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 5pm to 8pm with a rosary to begin at 6pm on Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at Crowder Funeral Home in Pearland. Mass will be at 10 am on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 at St. Helen Catholic Church. Burial to follow at South Park Cemetery.

Dr. Ritter loved science and music! Memorials can be sent to the University of Houston “Chemistry Excellence Fund” or to The Houston Grand Opera.