Myrtle Marie Ritthaler

MORTON – Myrtle Marie (Martin) Ritthaler, 97, passed away to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus, at Morton Apostolic Christian Restmor on Thursday, January 9, 2025. Myrt was born on November 1, 1927, in Groveland, Ill., to Lee and Stella (Simpson) Martin. She married her husband of 67 years, Merle Ritthaler, on Easter Sunday, March 28, 1948, at the Missionary Church in Groveland. He preceded her in death on November 17, 2015. She was also preceded in death by two sisters, Marilyn Davis and Glenna Kramer and one great-grandson, Elliot Ritthaler. Surviving is one daughter, Jeanne (Tony) Rogers of Morton; one son, Marc (Lorelei) Ritthaler of Tyler, Texas; six grandchildren, Kim (John) McCormick of Edwards, Ill., Brian (Michelle) Rogers of Morton, Cory (Lindsay) Ritthaler of Dallas, Texas, Justin (Danielle) Ritthaler of Woodbine, Md., Mindi (Jeremy) Dunckel of Katy, Texas and Marc Tyler (Sara) Ritthaler of China Spring, Texas, 16 great-grandchildren, Brandon (Annie), Nicholas (BreAnna) and Westin McCormick, Shayla (Kurtis) Hinrichsen, Taylor (Isaac) Yops, London and Jude Rogers, Miles and Alexis, Delaney and Willa, J.D. and Emmy Ritthaler and Ava, Ella and Levi Dunckel; one great-great grandson, John (Jack) McCormick, making five generations. She is also survived by two brothers, Bill Martin of East Peoria and Glen (Marilyn) Martin of Morton, one sister, Ann Hinton of East Peoria and many nieces and nephews. Myrt loved to cook, sew clothes, crochet afghans and travel to special places like Hawaii, Thailand and best of all Israel. She and her husband wintered in Florida and Texas for many years in their motorhome and at a condo in Destin, Florida. She loved her husband, children and grandchildren very much and was able to enjoy their accomplishments over the years. Myrt and Merle (M&M) were active members of Grace Church in Morton for over 50 years. Myrtle was primarily a wonderful homemaker, but had a part-time job at Ben Franklin, Witzig's and Tazewell Publishing Co. in Morton. She also sold Avon and real estate for Lincoln National Realty. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 15, 2025, at Grace Church in Morton, with Pastor Tim Bertsche officiating. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 14, at Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Morton. Further visitation will be held from 9 to 9:45 a.m. prior to the service at the church on Wednesday. Burial will be at Roberts Cemetery in Morton. Memorials may be made to the Grace Church, 1325 East Jefferson Street, Morton, IL 61550 or Rural Home Missionary Association, 310 East Courtland Street, Morton, IL 61550. The family would like to thank Restmor for their care and concern for Myrt as she made her Earthly home with them for a little while and entered into her Eternal home in Heaven. Knapp-Johnson Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Morton is handling arrangements. To leave an online condolence for the family visit www.knappjohnson.com. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Myrtle, please visit our floral store.