Preston O. "Ritt" RITTENHOUSE

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Preston RITTENHOUSE Obituary

RITTENHOUSE, Preston O. "Ritt", 86, was born March 20, 1929 in Ohio. Ritt lived a full and accomplished life, passing peacefully in his home in Tucson, Arizona on July 12, 2015. Ritt proudly served his country in the US Navy. He attended Catalina Junior High where he was the school's 1st All-City Athlete in Baseball and he attended Tucson High School from 1944-47, where he lettered in baseball. Ritt was the AAU Trampoline Champion for the State of Arizona in 1948. During his years at the University of Arizona, he participated in Baseball and Swimming, where in 1951, he was the Border Conference Diving Champion. Ritt received his BAE in History in 1951 and his Masters in Education in 1958. Ritt coached the Catalina High School's Boys Gymnastics team, helping to secure six City Championships and four State Championships. He continued to teach and coach with TUSD until 1987. Ritt was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Throughout his life, Ritt challenged himself physically and achieved many personal accomplishments, including climbing Mt. Fuji ('57); The Matterhorn ('63); Mt. Whitney ('66); a 15 day canoe trip of the Hudson Bay ('75); a 4250-Mile Bicenntennial Bike Ride across the US ('76); rode the El Tour de Tucson ('83-'85); kayaked 10-days on the Rio Usamacinto in Guatemala ('94); paraglided in New Zealand ('98); completed a 1001 mile solo bike ride from Daytona, FL to Doyletown, PA; and so much more. Ritt bicycled over 68,200 miles in over 15 foreign countries. Ritt had a deep passion for juggling and became a world class juggler. Ritt made an impact on many lives and will be missed dearly by his close friends. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, July 22, 2015 at 4:00 p.m., at BRING'S BROADWAY CHAPEL.

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Published by Arizona Daily Star on Jul. 19, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for Preston RITTENHOUSE

5 Entries

Cindy Gurgoze

July 23, 2015

I was Ritt's caregiver for about 4 years. He was a remarkable man. I thoroughly enjoyed his stories about his life and travels. He and I had travel to some of the same places in Turkey in common. He loved showing his scrapbooks and telling if his adventures. He also gave me some helpful advice for teaching as well because I am a teacher also. He often said that he loved to teach. He even me to juggle a little bit a couple if months before he passed because he wanted more women to juggle. He was my friend . I will miss him very much. Good bye Ritt until we meet again on heaven.i love you

H. Ann (Williams) Bennon

July 21, 2015

Ritt Rittenhouse was my high school health teacher. Because of a scheduling conflict, the only class I was able to sign up for was Ritt's all boy health class. The Principal told me that if it was OK with Mr. Rittenhouse, it would be OK with him. When I explained that I needed his class to graduate, Ritt turned red and said that he, a bachelor, and I would have to help each other through the class. The class was great until we got to sex education. It was a challenge for both of us. He must have done a good job of teaching, because Jeff (one of Ritt's gymnasts) and I have been married for 45 years and have three children and 6 grandchildren. Ironically, we both have ended up teaching health sometime during our separate teaching careers. Ritt has always been a special friend, and I will miss him.

Jeff Bennon

July 21, 2015

Ritt touched the lives of so many of his young students in positive ways. He had a deep passion for many, varied sports and activities. Baseball, volleyball, juggling, cycling, skiing, hiking, mountain climbing, kayaking, to mention just a few. He was a great coach, teacher, and friend. He had a superb way of organizing his teaching to make learning easy and fun, with simple progressive steps.
Ritt had a huge influence on so many of the lives he touched. He was one of a kind and he will be greatly missed.

Jerry DeYoung

July 21, 2015

Rest in Peace Coach Rittenhouse. You were the ultimate athlete, a great positive role model, and all around nice guy. What wasn't mentioned in his accolades was that he was also a highly accomplished snow skier. Although he forbade any of his gymnasts from snow skiing (dare they sustain an injury), he helped a lot of Catalina High Ski Club members and other skiers on Mt. Lemmon improve their snow skiing skills. He'll be fondly remembered by all whose lives he touched.

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