Victor Andrew Ritz , age 81

Of Newton, IL passed from this life on T hursday , August 15 , 2013 at 5:55 am to his eternal life with our Lord Jesus Christ. During the last month of his life, all Vic's children traveled to be by his side.   He was surrounded by their love and prayers and his loving and devoted wife was by his side at the time of his passing at the Villas of Holly Brook in Newton.

Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10: 0 0 AM – Monday August 19, 2013 at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Newton, IL with Fr. Al Ke mme and Fr. Robert Spriggs celebrating mass. Military graveside rites will be conducted by the St. Marie American Legion at the West Lawn Cemetery , Newton, IL . Visitation will be held from 4-7 P.M. Sunday, August 18, 2013 at the church .

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Catholic Charities or St. Thomas Catholic Church.

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Blake- Buchan an Funeral Home in Newton, IL.

The obituary can be viewed and condolences left at www.blakefh.com .

Vic was born at home on the family farm near Newton , IL on July 31, 1932 to Andrew and Cecilia (Bolander) Ritz.  He attended a one room school house through eighth grade and graduated from Newton Community High School in 1950. He served in the Army near the end of the Korean War and was stationed at

Fort Leonardwood, MO from May of 1953 to 1955.

He married Dolores Ann (Kirschner) of Chicago, IL on November 12, 1955 at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Chicago, IL.  Vic was a dairy and grain farmer on the family farm near Newton, IL until 1986.  He loved tilling the land and trusting in God for each season's crop.  He said it was a wonderful place to raise his family.  He worked several jobs to provide for his family and felt blessed to work for the State of Illinois Highway Department until he retired in 2001. Vic always had a quick wit, good sense of humor, and loved a good joke. He always enjoyed a hearty laugh with family and friends along with an ice cold beer. His greatest treasures on this earth were his kids and their families and through them his legacy will live on.

He is survived by his wife, Dolores; his daughters Mary Ritz of Scottsdale, AZ; Teresa (John) Eaton of Carbondale, CO; Elizabeth (Terrence) Witt of Menomonie, WI; Victoria (Steven) Keller of Newton; Ge ralyn (Gilbert) Lederhos of Cal gary, C anada ; his sons Michael (Heidi) of El Dorado Hills, CA; Mark (Raquel) of Champaign; Kevin of Bicknell, IN; Joseph (Deanna) of Austin, TX; and Lee (Brenda) of Wheatridge, CO; his son-in-law, Brian Reich of Newton, IL; his sisters Angela Geltz of Effingham , IL ; Jeannette (Jerome) Kocher of Newton , IL ; Kathleen (John) Probst of Wheeler , IL ; his brother Ronald (Sandra) Ritz of Asotin, WA; as well as thirty grandchildren and 10 great children. Vic was preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Delbert and Arthur, and one daughter, Deborah Reich.