HAPPY 102ND BIRTHDAY Frances Ritz

HONOREE

Residence: Hampton Woods, Poland

Date of birth: Jan. 10, 1917, in Youngstown

FAMILY

Parents: Anna and Ignatius Palchefsky

Siblings: Three brothers: Dr. John Allen, Nicholas Pahl and Michael Palchefsky, all deceased

Spouse: The late Steve Ritz, whom she married in June 1944 in Oklahoma while he was on leave from the U.S. Army Air Corps. He also was a crime reporter for The Vindicator.

Child: Barbara (Tom) Louchard of Pacifica, Calif.

Grandchildren: Eric and Bjorn Louchard

BACKGROUND

Education: Valedictorian of East High School in 1935, she received a bachelor’s degree in business education from Youngstown College (now Youngstown State University) and a master’s degree from Kent State University

Employment: She taught for 48 years, including 32 years at Boardman High School, where she helped hundreds of students find jobs in a variety of careers. She retired in 1991.

Memberships: She is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, American Association of University Women, was treasurer of both Friends of Boardman and Friends of Poland libraries, and was a member of East Ohio Lapidary Club.

ADDITIONAL INTERESTS

Other information/lifestyle: She received an award for excellence from Ohio State Vocational Department for promoting employment possibilities for high-school students, Outstanding Business Teacher of the Year in Mahoning and Trumbull counties and was a 2001 recipient of the YWCA Woman of the Year in business education. In May 2018, she also was presented the “Lifetime Educational Service Award” from Beeghly College of Education at YSU.

CELEBRATIONS

Date and location: A celebration to honor Frances took place with family and friends at Hampton Woods. She also received a personal birthday greeting from Sen. Rob Portman and a birthday recognition from Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13th.