Dee Lynne Rittenour

Dee "Big Dee" Lynne Rittenour, 71, of Spruce Pine, NC, passed away early Monday, December 30, 2024 at Mission Hospital Asheville.
Big Dee was preceded in death by his brother Jon, sister-in-law Glenda, and mother and father Edith and Emmett Rittenour. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Pat, sons Emmett and Dee (Jessica), grandchildren Jacob, Kayla and Shelby, brother Jay, and nieces Heather (David) and Michele (Jon). He is further survived by countless extended family and friends, all of whom love him and will miss him dearly.
Big Dee was born on Tuesday, March 31, 1953 in Dover, Ohio. He was the second child of Edith and Emmett Rittenour. At age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, and served in the 82nd Airborne Division in Vietnam. During this time, he met his beloved wife, Pat, and they started their family with the births of their sons, Emmett and Dee.
After being honorably discharged in 1984, Big Dee developed and explored his culinary skills by working in several restaurants. He also became an accomplished lapidarian. He loved collecting, cutting and polishing his gems, and was eager to share his rock, gem and mineral collection in great detail with anyone and everyone. If you came to the home, you would be sure to get the "rock tour."
After Big Dee transformed his gems, Pat would use her artistic mastery to wire wrap the pieces into beautiful jewelry. It's only fitting that after living in the Charlotte area for nearly thirty years, Big Dee and Pat found their new home in Little Switzerland, the jewel of the Blue Ridge Parkway. They spent the last five years making many new friends on their part of the mountain and the many arts and crafts shows they attended.
Big Dee's most notable accomplishment, his pride and joy, is his family. Within moments of meeting him, he would undoubtedly start into sharing stories about his beloved sons, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. They were his world, and he absolutely delighted in all they experienced and accomplished. His love for his family was his motivation and driving force. Through all the years of battling sickness, he was so happy to come home to his family.
He will always be remembered for his big heart, his wealth of knowledge, his great stubbornness, and his terrible timing. He was a loving husband and father, with great passion and spirit for all that he did. We love him and miss him so much. We hope to continue living our lives in a way that he would be proud of.
A celebration of Big Dee's life will be held Saturday, March 22nd from 3 to 7 pm in the Geneva Hall of Switzerland Inn.
Words of comfort may be emailed to the family by going to our website, www.webbfh.com, selecting Dee Rittenour's name and then you may sign his guestbook. Webb Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements for Mr. Rittenour and is honored to be serving the Rittenour family. Mr. Rittenour's obituary has also been posted on Facebook for viewing.