Dawn Rochelle Ritterband

Dawn was an amazing mother, sister, daughter, partner, friend, coworker and all-around person with the most loving soul, warm heart, and great sense of humor. She was deeply loved by those

close to her and will be missed by so many. In the days leading up to her passing, many of her family and friends were able to share with her what a light she was in their lives. Her passing has

left the world feeling dimmer, but there is comfort in carrying her presence with us as we mourn this heartbreaking loss.

Dawn will be lovingly remembered by her two sons, Maxwell and Benjamin, whom she shared with her former husband, Lee Ritterband, with whom she shared 25 years together; her long-time

partner, James Reyes; brother Duane Krehbiel; sister and brother-in-law Diane and Gary Geiss; niece Mellisa Geist; stepsister Julie Schoenecker; as well as numerous relatives and friends.

Dawn was predeceased by her parents, Betty and Wayne Krehbiel.

Dawn was born in Mount Vernon, Illinois on June 15th, 1971. She grew up with her mother in

Sarasota, Florida from the age of eight. She attended Riverview High School and graduated in 1989. She spent a year at Stetson University before transferring to the University of Florida where she graduated in 1993 with a degree in occupational therapy. In 2001, Dawn received a Master’s in Health Administration from the Medical College of Virginia, now known as Virginia

Commonwealth University.

Dawn spent a majority of her early career working at Martha Jefferson Hospital, first as an intern in 1999, until she left in 2014. She played a pivotal role in building and leading the ambulatory

services division, establishing the hospital’s first owned medical and surgical specialty clinics. In the later years of her tenure, she further refined her expertise in Human Resources and brought

thoughtful leadership and dedication to every role she served. Most recently, she worked for Inova Health System as a Sr. Compensation Analyst, and her work was appreciated by those

across the company.

Dawn was probably best known for being the most outstanding mom to her two boys, Max and Ben with whom she got to travel the world. Stand out experiences include spending a summer in

Australia, a memorable family trip to Costa Rica, and most recently, a visit to Spain where she and Ben had the opportunity to visit Max who was living there teaching English for a year. More

important than their travels, though, they simply cherished each other’s company. Dawn also loved her two cats, Olive and Zoe, who never wanted to leave her side. There is no doubt they

will miss their time spent cuddling with Mom.

In December of 2024, Dawn and James moved to Katy, Texas, just west of Houston, where she got to live out her dream of living in a warm climate, spending lots of time soaking up the sun on

the porch. Together, they loved to travel both near and far, whether it was going to the Hill Country to enjoy a relaxing getaway or visiting friends across the country in New York and Puerto Rico. When they were not traveling, they enjoyed attending concerts, most notably, ELO.

Dawn was the most warm, welcoming, and wonderful person and will be missed dearly. A celebration of her life will be held in Charlottesville, Virginia this summer. A final date is yet to

be set, but we hope to center it around her 55th birthday, which would have been June 15, 2026.

More details to come