Richard Ritchie Obituary Ritchie, Richard R. Age 85, 50+ year resident of Plymouth, passed away on Oct. 1, 2009. Preceded in death by loving wife of 59 years, Carol; brothers, Phil, Bob and Tom; and sister, Carrie. Survived by sister, Avis Muether of Cedar Falls, IA; sons, Allen (Betty) of Bloomington, Bruce (Rhonda) of Ft. Myers, FL, Craig of Wayzata, Dennis (Barbara) of Tonka Bay, and Marty (Dawn) of Anoka; grandchildren, Krista (Patrick) Maynard, Elizabeth Penman, Daniel and Laura Jo; great-grandchildren, Kenzie, Ashley, Jacob, Austin and Deven. He graduated from Waterloo East Iowa High School and was an excellent athlete in baseball, wrestling and boxing. Richard, as did most young men, enlisted in the Army shortly after the start of WWII. He was a medic with the 423rd Regiment, 106th Infantry Division and was involved in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium where he was captured along with most of his company and spent the next 4 months as a POW in Stalags IV-B (Muhlberg) and VIII-A (Gorlitz). When Russian troops got close, Richard and others walked the next 54 days through Germany where hunger, weather and disease claimed the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. After left for dead, he escaped and was eventually liberated by Gen. Patton's forces in April 1945. Richard was then evacuated to a hospital in France, then went by ship to the U.S. where he spent time in various medical facilities until his discharge in November 1945. He graduated from the University of Iowa with degrees in Chemistry and Electronics in 1949. He also completed his teaching certification at the University of Northern IA. Richard and Carol met while working at Rath Packing and married in June 1947. They and sons, Allen and Bruce, moved to Biloxi, MS where he taught radar to Air Force personnel at Kiesler AFB. In 1955, the family of four, now with sons Craig and Dennis, moved to Plymouth, MN. They built a new home in 1957 and with Marty's birth in 1959 the family was complete. Richard worked for Univac, Electro Nuclear, and in 1963 he took a position with Control Data Corp in circuit design working on super computer projects for the U.S. and foreign governments including the F-15 and Apollo spacecrafts. He taught Electrical Engineering at St. Paul Vocational Institute for many years until his retirement from both in 1988. During his tenure at Control Data, Richard, an avid archer, was President of the Data Bowmen in the early 70's. He competed in the Olympic trials and was ranked 25th in the US and just missed qualifying for Olympic competition. Richard was a strong supporter of the VFW, Ex-POW's, and along with Carol, attended several Ex-POW reunions in Europe and throughout the US. Some of his experiences are condensed in the book Long Hard Road by Thomas Saylor. Thank you Mr. Saylor for bringing out the detailed days of his experiences which we may have otherwise never known. In his later years, Richard enjoyed the company of his sons and their families, as well as his morning crew friends at McDonalds in Wayzata. We will miss him immensely and carry so many fond memories of him. Special thanks to the staff at Meridian Manor Wayzata, Presbyterian Homes on Lake Mtka and Twin Cities Hospice. A celebration of Richard's life will take place on Sunday, Oct. 11 from 1-4 pm at David Lee Funeral Home, 1220 E. Wayzata Blvd., Wayzata. Interment with military honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery Monday, Oct. 12 at 9:30 am. David Lee Funeral Home Wayzata 952-473-5577