John Paul Ritchie
June 26, 1946 – May 14, 2025
John Paul Ritchie of Waitsfield, Vermont, passed away on May 14, 2025, from heart failure, just six weeks short of his 79th birthday. The son of Marion Michael and Shirley Mae (Jordan) Ritchie, John was born on Long Island, growing up in Uniondale, New York, later living in Farmingdale. He moved to Fayston, Vermont, in the mid-1980s.
John was a graduate of Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, where he ran high hurdles for the track team. He received a soccer scholarship to the University of Maryland, and later continued his studies at the C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University.
On Long Island he worked for Robertshaw Controls, Heating and Cooling and later managed the HVAC system for The Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. In Vermont he worked for The Bridges Vermont Resort and Tennis Club. He retired from for the Sugarbush Resort's snowmaking operation.
John leaves three sons, Paul (Michele) Ritchie of West Islip, New York, Thomas (Kaitlyn) Ritchie of Clayton, California, Morgan (Anna) Ritchie of Hauppauge, New York, four granddaughters and two grandsons. Additionally, he is survived by his siblings, Donald Ritchie of Ludlow, Vermont, Faith (Richard Menaker) Ritchie of Pelham, New York, James Ritchie of Moriches, New York, Kevin (Constancia) Ritchie of Warren, Vermont, and Beth (Luke) Chung of McLean, Virginia. His former wife, Susan Pounder Ritchie, survives and he was predeceased by his former wife, Coleen McKeown, Granville, Vermont.
In his youth, John played baseball (NY Yankees fan), was a Cub and Boy Scout, and roamed the neighborhood with his older brother and friends as kids did in the 1950s. When he had children, he coached their sports teams. After relocating to Vermont, he enjoyed vegetable gardening and skiing, as well as fishing and hunting.
John was a reserved and quiet man; however, he was known for his pithy, funny Facebook comments, which family and FB friends will miss. In his retirement he took up woodworking and made boxes and bowls from recycled wood scraps.
The family is especially grateful for the extraordinary care he received from both doctors and staff at Central Vermont Medical Center over the years and most recently from University of Vermont Medical Center, Burlington.
