Mack S. Ritchie
Left Formation June 12, 2014
Mack S. Ritchie, a resident of Dothan, died Thursday afternoon, June 12, 2014, at his home. He was 90.
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. Saturday, June 14, 2014, in the Holman-Headland Mortuary Chapel with Reverend Van Clack officiating. Burial will follow in Gardens of Memory, between Headland and Dothan. The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00 P.M. Saturday at the mortuary in Headland.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Heritage Baptist Church, 1951 Westgate Parkway, Dothan, AL 36303 or to Covenant Hospice, 104 Rock Bridge Road, Dothan, AL 36303.
Mr. Ritchie was born in Hilton, Georgia and was reared in Columbia, Alabama, son of the late James Parable Ritchie and Blanche Grimsley Ritchie. He was a 1942 graduate of the Houston County High School in Columbia.
Mr. Ritchie served his country in the U. S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a tail gunner on a B-17 and participated in thirty-two operational missions over enemy occupied Europe. He received the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Mr. Ritchie was discharged from the military as a Staff Sergeant.
Mr. Ritchie was retired as the owner and operator of Ritchie Homes. He was a life member and past President of the Dothan Home Builders Association and was named Builder of the Year in 1984. Mr. Ritchie was an active member of the Heritage Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jewel Burnham Ritchie, a sister, Nora Clarke, and a brother, Orel Ritchie.
A wonderful husband, father, and friend, Mr. Ritchie was a hero in his generation, and a man who loved and served his God all his life.
Surviving relatives include a daughter, Cindy Ritchie McGill (Mike), Dadeville, AL; a son, David Mack Ritchie (Kaye), Dothan; a sister, Sara Stephens (James), Warner Robins, GA; and a brother, Lonnie Ritchie (Bobbie), Lagrange, GA; four granddaughters, Carmen Echols (Trey), Cori Newman (Beau), Abbey Carr (Chris), and Anna Evans (Luke); eight great-grandchildren, Jack and Davis Echols, Lauren and James Michael Newman, Lillian and Harris Carr, Jewel and Walter Evans; a special friend, Joyce McCord, Dothan; several nieces and nephews.
Serving as active pallbearers will be the grandsons-in-law. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be the Senior Adult Men’s Sunday School Class of the Heritage Baptist Church.