Alma Sitterding

SITTERDING, Alma Ashburn, went to be with the Lord on November 10, 2010 to join her loving husband, Frederick "Fritz" B. Sitterding III, her soulmate of 63 years. Alma was preceded in death by her father and mother, Augustus and Pauline Ashburn; her husband, Frederick; sister, Dorothy Brent; brothers, John Randolph Ashburn and George Warner Ashburn. She is also survived by niece, Diana Ashburn Pitts and her husband, Jack; nephews, John Randolph Ashburn Jr. and his wife, Dorothy and Samuel Brent. She leaves to cherish her memory a son, Frederick B. Sitterding IV and his wife, Suzanne, of Hartfield, Va., formerly of Richmond; two daughters, Patricia Sitterding Hamlet of Richmond and Lillian Sitterding Meyer and her husband, Albert, of Midlothian; six grandchildren, Frederick W. Sitterding of Stockbridge, Ga., Adam B. Sitterding and his wife, Beth, of Richmond, Nicholas A. Meyer and his wife, Cathy, of Glen Allen, Andrew O. Meyer and his wife, Katy, of Camarillo, Calif. and William S. Meyer and his wife, Cara, of Midlothian and Amanda H. Hamlet of Richmond; eight great-grandchildren, Ashley and Lauren Meyer, Elizabeth, Virginia and Joseph Meyer, Jude and Luke Meyer and Jordan Sitterding. Mrs. Sitterding was a charter member of the Windsor Farms Garden Club, where she exhibited her love of making floral arrangements. She was a longtime, active member of the Tuckahoe Woman's Club, where she exhibited her magnificent oil paintings which received numerous awards. Alma was grateful for this God-given talent. Mrs. Sitterding was a member of Saint Michael's Catholic Church and was also a founding member of the Church of the Visitation in Topping, Va. Mrs. Sitterding was a life member of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation because of her desire to preserve the Bay, and a member of the T.J. Junior Women's Club, where she assisted the blind in learning to read Braille. Alma and her husband, Fritz, enjoyed many wonderful, happy years at their river home in Hartfield, Va., on the Piankatank River and at The Hermitage at Cedarfield, where they were blessed with many friends. Her remains will rest at Bliley's-Central Chapel, 3801 Augusta Ave., where the family will receive friends Friday from 2 to 4 and from 6 to 8 p.m. with a Christian Wake at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Visitation, 8642 General Puller Highway (State Route 33) in Topping, Va. Her remains will rest in the Reconciliation Chapel from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Interment in the church cemetery immediately followed by a reception in the church. Contributions can be made to either Saint Michael's Catholic Church or to the Church of the Visitation.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.