William Paul Ritter Sr.

William Paul Ritter, Sr. (Bill), 87 died November 2, 2007 at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was born to Margaret and Winfield Ritter on February 6, 1920 in El Paso, Texas. He attended the University of Texas in Austin before joining the Army Air Corp and serving in Saipan during WWII. He married Mary Jane Chaney in 1941 and moved to Phoenix in 1946 where he owned and operated the Nehi Royal Crown Bottling Company and Ritter Walker Distributing Company. In 1956 he and a partner built the Safari Hotel, Scottsdale's first air conditioned resort hotel. They moved to Newport Beach in the early seventies, belonged to the Balboa Bay Club and enjoyed many years of boating and deep sea fishing. In 1980 they moved to Sedona, Arizona where they supported some of the community projects such as the Sedona Cultural Park, the Sedona Medical Center and the Sedona Humane Society. Bill especially enjoyed his friends in the One Barrel of Oil Club and the Sedona 30 Club. After the death of his wife, Jane, he met and married Margery Scudder Burke and resided in Scottsdale and Big Fork, Montana. He loved cars, planes, and boats and was the oldest person to complete the Bondurant Race Car Driving School. He is survived by his wife Margery, his son William P. Ritter, daughters, Patricia Tait (Tom Sr.), Jane Ritter, Mary Katherine Ritter, stepchildren, Suzanne Scudder and Ambrose E. Scudder II, grandchildren, Robert Ritter (Elaine), Melinda Ritter, Bonnie Ritter, Tom Tait, Jr. (Faye), William Tait (Jill), Bryan Ritter, eleven great grandchildren, one great great grandchild and several nieces and nephews. Private family service to be held in Sedona. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sedona Humane Society, 2115 Shelby Dr., Sedona, AZ 86336 and to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014.