In Memoriam
David G. Ritchey
Dave passed away on December 22, 2020. Here is his obituary, followed by a remembrance by Tony Lavely ’64 and an excerpt from his Amazon author's page.
Obituary
The Intelligencer (Doylestown PA)
January 5, 2021
Dave Ritchey
1964 Class Book
Doylestown — David G. Ritchey of Doylestown passed away on Tuesday, December 22, 2020.
Born in 1942 to the late Mary Corinne Gamble and Hugh McDiarmid Ritchey in Cincinnati OH, he lived a solid 78 years in almost as many places, and Bucks Country was his home multiple times — and his last.
David had numerous chapters in his life, each one filled with a variety of interests, but was best known for his photography work spanning several decades, followed by his prolific writing of books over the past 20 years.
A graduate of Yale University in 1965 with a degree in economics, David also participated in the ROTC program and was commissioned a Naval officer upon graduation. Like so many other young men of his time, he served in the Vietnam War. Also like so many other young men of his time who came back from that war irrevocably changed, David persevered and did his best to build a meaningful life and heal the collective sadness from that era. His adult children would later encourage him to write about his experience as an officer in the Navy, resulting in the publication of A Sense Of Betrayal: Recollections Of Vietnam in 2012, a moving and personal look into one man's experience serving honorably for a war without honor.
In addition to more than 40 other books he has written, David was known throughout Buck's County and greater New York City as a fine-art photographer for 20 years. His work spanned from abstract composition to still-life, working in both black-and-white and color. Multiple trips to Yellowstone National Park and sleeping in a truck along the coast of Maine brought some of his finest nature-photography works to numerous East coast galleries, often using uncommon printing techniques like photo-sensitive emulsion on canvas to further enhance the presentation of his work.
Many people in the restaurant industry knew David because one of his favorite activities was going out to dinner with friends. He knew what he liked and what made him comfortable. Although for many years David saw himself as a "loner," for the past 10 years he has been anything but alone, surrounded and survived by the finest group of friends he had ever had. He was more than content.
A life-long logophile, David's love for words made him a formidable scrabble player, dropping "quixotic" on a triple word without batting an eyelash.
He is survived by his son, Mac Ritchey, his wife, Korinne, of Carlisle, MA, his daughter, Harper Schantz of Portland OR, as well as his grandson, Brendan Ritchey, and his two sisters, Ann Ritchey Baruch of Bryn Mawr PA and Louise Ritchey Conant of Lexington MA.
At some unforetold time in the future, there will be an epic party in his honor.
Remembrance by Tony Lavely ’64
April 22, 2021
Though David Ritchey and I both graduated from Yale in 1965, we both had matriculated with the Class of 1964 and chose to stay affiliated with the Class of 1964. We were in the same senior society (underground), so I got to know him very well. He was an heir to the Gamble family of Procter & Gamble (Gamble was his middle name, and he lived and grew up in Cincinnati, where P&G is headquartered). However, he never put on airs. Rather, he was a jovial and fun-loving guy.
I was disappointed that he chose not to stay connected with our class activities. I don’t think he ever attended a reunion. When I read his obituary, I was again disappointed that we didn’t stay connected. He was a prolific author, a talented photographer, and a great family man.
About David Ritchey
from his Amazon page
David Ritchey has had a variety of vocations including naval officer, businessman, fine-art photographer, psychotherapist, researcher, and writer. He has also had a variety of avocations including scuba diving, sailing, skiing, tennis, golf, gardening, woodworking, dogs, magic, bridge, and SCRABBLE™. Not surprisingly, then, he has written about a variety of different subjects. (See Amazon's "David Ritchey" page for a guide to all of his books.)
Initially educated in economics at Yale University, he then served a five-year stint as an officer in the U.S. Navy, including a year in Vietnam. Returning to civilian life, he first drew on his college education and became a businessman. Before long, however, he realized that his inclinations were more of the artistic sort, and he took up fine-art photography.
While immersed in the world of art, he became fascinated by the psychology/neurology of creativity, and returned to school to train as a psychotherapist. During his 15 years of clinical practice specializing in hypnotherapy, he became especially interested in the psychodynamics of those clients who reported having had transpersonal ("paranormal") experiences. He then undertook a twelve-year project of researching and writing about such people, who he speaks of as "Anomalously Sensitive Persons (ASPs)."
When his daughter opened an art gallery on Cape Cod, he became her business manager and spent a few years as both a businessman and a fine-art photographer.
Now "retired," he spends most of his time writing about those subjects that have been of special interest to him throughout the course of his lifetime.
He currently lives in historic Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his golden retriever, Katherine. He has two grown children, Harper and Mac, and a grandson, Brendan.