Edward Charles Ritter was born March 12, 1932 to Arthur and Anne Scarle Ritter in Philadelphia, PA. and passed April 1, 2026, at the age of 94.  Ed was the third of five boys (if only by minutes to his twin brother).  There are many family stories about the Ritter boys and the tight bond they shared both growing up and later in life.  Ed graduated from Landsdowne PA high school with a determination to go to college and worked two jobs to make that happen.  As a camp counselor in high school, Ed spent many days among the older boys asking for their majors and finally settled on accounting and finance after researching each option.  Ed enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Specialist 4 in 1956 - 1958 and served in Panama in the Counter Intelligence Unit.  Ed graduated from Penn State University where he was a walk-on for the Nittany Lions basketball team.  During his college days, Ed also served as the Treasurer of his Sigma Nu Fraternity. After graduation he began his career with J&L Steel as an auditor and later studied for and passed his CPA exam.  During his long career with J&L Steel, Ed served in many positions, culminating in his role as Controller.  In 1972, Ed and family moved to Houston with J&L.  Later in his career he returned to his audit years and worked and traveled for Profit Retrieval Systems where he helped develop a system that tracked lost revenue.

Ed met his first love, Margaret (Peg) Graves and they married in 1960.  Peg and Ed had their first daughter Ann in 1961, their second daughter Edie in 1962, third daughter Amy in 1963 and their first son Ed, Jr. in 1964.  In 1966, their second son Thomas was born.  After becoming a widower in 1968, Ed met and married his second love Lois J. Levin in 1971.  Ed and Lois had their first daughter Linda in 1972 and then a son, Jim, was born in 1974.

In 2008, Ed moved to Tennessee after his wife Lois passed and opened a Roni Deutsch tax service where he worked until he turned 80 and retired.  Ed had many philosophies in life but the most significant was his ability to wake up each morning with no regrets and tackle what life brought full on with determination and strength.  Ed would tell you that his role as father and husband were his most significant and important jobs.

Ed is survived in death by daughters: Edie Sloan (Jim), Amy Ritter and Linda Ritter as well as two of his sons: Ed, Jr. (Marlene) Ritter and Jim (Amy) Ritter and his son in law Mark Wells; 11 grandchildren: Terral Wells (Andrea), Adam Wells (Abby), Amy Sloan, Destinee Sloan-Yurcak (Jeff), Nic Ritter, Jake Ritter, Emma Hale, Olivia Hale, Caleb Ritter, Jonah Ritter and Ethan Ritter; and 3 great grandchildren Charlotte Sloan, Nora Yurcak, and Margaret Yurcak.  He is preceded in death by his two wives: Margaret Graves Ritter, Lois Levin Ritter, daughter Ann Wells, son Thomas Ritter and grandson Matthew Sloan.

Ed will be missed for many things: his love for cards and his friendships over a beer; but most importantly is the mark he made on others and the determination he instilled in his life and those around him.  A celebration of life will be held April 26th, details to follow.