Zach was born on June 13, 1989, to James and Susan Holman Ritter in Los Angeles. He graduated from Windward School in 2007, then majored in history at the University of California, Berkeley, where his senior thesis, “Till the Work Is Done: The Role of the Radical and Chartist Press in British Journalism,” was awarded high honors. After a stint in journalism, Zach earned his law degree from the University of Southern California.
He worked for the Wage Justice Center, a nonprofit agency that advocates for workers’ rights, and the civil rights attorney Kyle Todd. Beginning in 2017, he was a research attorney for the Honorable Elaine W. Mandel at the Los Angeles County Superior Court at the Santa Monica Courthouse. Zach was also an aspiring novelist and was in the process of pitching his manuscript, Bell Street Burning.
A sensitive soul with a keen wit, Zach had a creative and capacious mind. He was passionate about social justice and read voraciously on a vast array of subjects. He was always ready with witty and incisive critiques of recent events and pop-culture phenomena, and he could draw references from his encyclopedic memory with startling speed. Zach loved music and played guitar.
Zach was cherished by his family. He was very close to his father Jim before Jim’s death in 2022, and he was a loving and devoted caregiver to his mother. He treasured his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Caroline James and was a trusted and beloved friend and colleague to many. His death leaves a hole in our hearts.
He was predeceased by his father James B. Ritter III and his uncles Scott Holman and Thomas Doulis. He is survived by his mother Susan Holman Ritter and his girlfriend Caroline James. Other survivors include his aunts Nancy Ritter Doulis and Linda Ritter Pulsinelli, uncles Craig Holman and Robert Pulsinelli, and cousins Bella Holman, Scott Holman II, Yianni Doulis, Dion Doulis, Gary Pulsinelli, Elizabeth Pulsinelli, and Elizabeth Dante.
A memorial service will be held at noon on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Saint Thomas the Apostle Hollywood, 7501 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046. A reception will follow at the church. All are welcome.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to donate to the Wage Justice Center <https://www.wagejustice.org/donate> or Saint Thomas the Apostle Hollywood <https://www.saintthomashollywood.org/>.
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