Irmgard Ritenis

Irmgard was born on October 15, 1937 in Stuttgart, Germany, the second of her parents’ three daughters. A petite 5’3” tall as an adult, she was a strong, compassionate person whose early life surely shaped the woman she would become. World War II began when she was two years old. Forced to evacuate the city, her mother took the three girls to stay with relatives in the Black Forest. Twice more they fled the fighting before they finally returned to Stuttgart, about two years after the war ended. There they lived in an apartment building surrounded by family, with her grandfather’s bakery on the ground floor. Irmgard spoke fondly of selling “bretzels” in that shop. Later, she was revered for a different German delicacy, her luscious homemade “spaetzle.”

Irmgard started her career as a medical secretary. She met her future husband, Indulis, while working at the University Pediatric Hospital in Erlangen. They relocated to Adelaide, South Australia after their wedding. Their daughter, Christine, was born there, and their son, Andris, six years later in St. Louis, Missouri. The family moved several more times, until they finally settled into a dark gray split-level house in suburban New City, New York.

It was there that Irmgard earned her GED and ultimately a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University. Specializing in geriatric social work, she worked at the Amsterdam Nursing Home in Manhattan and at the Wartburg in Mount Vernon, among other places. Her caring attitude extended to her free time, when she volunteered as an election worker, served her church in a variety of capacities, and helped friends with a host of errands and responsibilities.

Irmgard is survived by her two children, a granddaughter, Sara, and grandson, Nicholas, in the United States, as well as by her sisters Ingrid and Waltraud and extended family in Germany. She will be missed by all those whose lives she touched. We love you Omi!

Reverend Rhonda J. Hoehn, Pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, will officiate a private Graveside Service at Germonds Cemetery in New City, NY on Monday, February 17, 2025. A Memorial Service will be held at the church on Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 3:00 pm. Donations in Irmgard’s memory may be sent to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 323 South Main Street, New City, NY 10956.