I wanted to share Mom's eulogy.
How do I describe my Mom? Daughter to George and Clara.  Sister to Robert. Wife to Robert, Mom to Barbara, Carol, Susan, Sandra, Bob, Nancy and myself.  Grandma to Beth, Bill, David and Amanda. Aunt, cousin and friend to more people than I can count. 
I sent out a message on facebook talking about losing my Mom. The response was overwhelming. A recurrent comment was what a beautiful and friendly person my Mom was. She always greeted you with her smile. She was always genuinely was happy to see you.
Mom was the kindest and the most gracious women I know. Even at that hospital when she was getting stuck with a needle and in pain; she reassured the staff she was fine and thanked them for whatever they did. 
As a teenager Mom was very sick in and out of the hospital. She lost her only brother during this time. These events led to her desire to have a large family. And that she did.
My grandparents signed my mom up for the junior auxiliary at Square Post at the age of 10. She was a proud member of the American Legion for more than 83 years. She met my Dad there and traveled with the legion on many trips around the country.  
 Mom was our family matriarch. She was the communication hub. Mom loved to let everyone know what was happening in our lives. If Mom knew you, you received Christmas cards, birthday cards and whatever special occasion was going on in your life. I believe she would sometimes send 50 cards per month out to her family and friends. And boy did she have a lot of friends. If you lived out of town she would enjoy  sending you all the news in notes she tucked away in your cards.
Mom instilled many important values in our lives. First, our faith and support of the church. You always had to dress properly for church. Many times she had all 5 girls dressed in matching dresses.  To this day I can't wear jeans or shorts to church. Mom taught Sunday school at Immanuel Church. So first on Sunday you went to Sunday school then you went to second service. Having 6 kids in a pew was not always easy. She divided us up and we had to sit in the front of the church so the minister could see us and we then had to behave.  To this day I feel more comfortable sitting in the front of church because of Mom. 
 Mom was a member of the Woman's Guild. When she moved to Peace Village she loved coming to Wednesday Art and crafts, quilters and being in charge of the jewelry at the rummage sale at church. When she no longer could get out to church, she loved attending Bible Study and the Meditations at Peace Village. She would get to the activities an hour before so she would have her seat and wait patiently for it to begin. Did I mention that being on time meant you were late in our family?
Mom was a very big advocate for the Veterans and instilled this into us. She was the original recycler. I cannot look at a paper towel or toilet roll tube without thinking of her mission. As kids we would very carefully unwrap our gifts to save the wrapping paper. The tubes would be cut into small sections and wrapped in whatever wrapping paper we had and then filled with candy to make tray favors for the veterans at Hines Hospital or Manteno Veterans Home. She brought this project to Peace Village and it is now continuing through a resident activity.  
You saved had to save all your cards. These were reused by gluing, the daily crossword puzzle from the newspaper on the inside with the answers glued in back on the card for the veterans to enjoy. She was always collecting things for the veterans including tooth paste, soap, shampoo, gum and any unused sections of yarn. As I child I remember filling cigar boxes with the toiletries to go to the vets. She would take anyone's left over yarn and create beautiful lap robes for the Veterans in wheelchairs and later for her family. Mom taught us to always stand up for the flag and place you hand out your heart. Every Memorial Day we would go to the cemetery to place flowers on the grave of the veterans. Their sacrifice was always to be remembered.
Family is very important. After my grandfather died my parents and their then four children moved in to my grandmother's house in Chicago. My parents lived with my grandmother until her death at 97. Dinner was at 4:30 and everyone was at the table. 
I blame my mother for my love of Oreos, as I only had at least three tins of homemade cookies to choose from every day and no store bought cookies were in our house. If you came over at Christmas you would get some of the more than 25 varieties of cookies made for the holiday. Holiday's are all about family. We shared many meals then with our extended family. 
Saturday morning you were forced to eat these wonderful homemade coffee cakes. As you can tell baking was an important part of our childhood.
We had an apple tree in the yard in our home in Evergreen Park that grew small apples. You could not throw out any of these apples as they were carefully peeled, cored and cooked to make her famous apple sauce. My children to this day will not eat apple sauce as nothing quite tastes like grandma's apple sauce. 
 Our first jobs were delivering newspapers in the afternoon. Depending on how old you were would determine how far you had to travel to deliver the papers. She taught us to save our money up and we would then contribute a portion to our family vacations. When we were little it was to a little cottage at Koontz Lake and then later to travel around the country and Canada. When I was a teenager we went on a great vacation tour by train out west.  Our parents wanted us to see this beautiful country. Mom would not understand my wanting to go to same place twice, as there was so much country to see. In their later years my parents did trips to Germany with church for Oktoberfest and cruises to Alaska and Hawaii.  
I appreciate the love and support we received. I would not be who I am today with out the support my Mom gave me. Thank you, Mom. I know God is happy to have you with him. I love you and will miss you.

I had the privilege of calling Evelyn, my Grandma. I am grateful for the time I had with her. She taught me to take pleasure in the small joys of everyday life. Her smile was infectious, as was her love. She had so much love to share with everyone. I will always remember how she wanted each of her children and grandchildren to feel her love. She had a lot of people to share her love with, but she was always very careful and fair to make sure no one felt left out.

Grandma was always thinking about others. Her generosity and the time she volunteered for others are two things I strive to do in my life. She made me believe in the magic of sending cards and the power of a smile. 

Another value my Grandma instilled in me was planning. She always had prepared for cards to be sent by certain dates or arrangements to be made. I know I get that from her. My Grandma was truly a great role model, beautiful inside and out. I will miss my Grandma very much, but I know she has forever touched my life. Love you Grandma, Amanda

Grandma was one of the kindest, most generous people that I know. Every time that I saw her she would have a genuine smile on her face the moment she spotted me. And I know this is true for all of the loved ones in her life.  

Throughout her whole life everyone who got to know her had the opportunity to discover how she never had a mean word for anyone, and how she wanted to spread goodness to the people around her.  My life was enriched with her in it, and I'm so happy I was able to know her for as long as I did.  Love you Grandma!

Beth

I don't really know where to begin with my Gram, but I think what I will never forget is how she used to light up and smile when her family was around. She was just so genuinely happy and excited to be surrounded by the ones she loved. It is something that I try to emulate as I realize how important family is. I am glad that I was able to take that lesson from my Gram. She was just one of the most loving and caring people I met. While I maybe bias, she had a certain excitement about her when it came to the little things. I'll miss you Gram, Dave

Everyone who knows my mom, has gotten a card from my mom. She loved sending them and occasionally receiving them. For her 90th birthday we tried to get everyone to send cards and they did. She loved receiving every single one and read them over and over. That makes me smile when I think of that.
Love you Mom, Nancy

OBITUARY

Evelyn H. Ritter

June 25, 1921 – September 8, 2014

Chapel Hill Gardens South Funeral Home & Cemetery

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