Leon Clare Rittenhouse

Leon Clare Rittenhouse, 95, passed away on March 28, 2007 at Hospice of Metro Denver in Aurora, Colorado. He was born January 26, 1912 near Lewellen, in Garden County, Nebraska. He was second of the eight children born to T.L. (Thomas Leon) and Velma Beryl (Rudd) Rittenhouse. He graduated, 1932, from Garden County High School, Oshkosh, Nebraska, and later attended Chadron State Teacher's College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree. After World War II he entered the University of Colorado, in Boulder, graduating with a Master of Arts degree. He was a 32nd Degree Mason, a member of George Washington Lodge No. 161, AF&AM; a member of the Denver Consistory; a member and three year Commander of the Naval Order of the United States; a member of the Retired Officers Association; a Retired Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy Reserves; a member of the The American Legion, and a member of Grace United Methodist Church, Denver, Colorado. He married Zelma Barnum on June 7, 1942, at Chadron, Nebraska. He taught country school for four years in the Sand Hills of Nebraska and was Principal of the Grade School for two years in Lewellen, both in Garden County. These years, 1932-1938, were the years of the Great Depression. The year 1932 President Roosevelt closed all the banks. Money was scarce. While teaching he helped support his two youngest brothers and youngest sister. Financial circumstances did not permit Clare to continue his education upon graduation from High School. After six years of teaching he entered Chadron State Teachers College. Clare financed his training for an undergraduate degree by working as a student in a faculty position. Years later after his children graduated from college he established a 'Poor Boy Scholarship Fund' at Chadron State College, which still exists for a student entering college needing financial help. The year 1941, prior to World War II, he entered Federal Civil Service, at Wichita Falls, Texas, as an Instructor in the Army Technical Schools. From this position he was commissioned as a Lieutenant JG in the U.S. Navy in which he served his country for three and one-half years. Following release from Active Duty in 1946 he remained in the U.S. Navy Reserves. He reentered Federal Civil Service, 1947, at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, where he worked until retirement in 1974. Clare was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Evan, Dallas, and Try and two sisters, Zella Nash and Enid Boggs. He is survived by two sons, Donald (Suzanne) Rittenhouse, Dayton, Washington; David Rittenhouse, Alamosa, Colorado; a daughter Bonnie Jean (Richard) Skidmore, Grand Junction, Colorado; a granddaughter, Kelli Jean Stanhouse, Denver, and grandson, Seth Thomas Rittenhouse, Boulder, Colorado; sister, Genilia Drown, Oshkosh, Nebraska; brother, Merle (Edith) Rittenhouse, Lewellen, Nebraska, sisters-in-law, Ruby Rittenhouse and Georgia Rittenhouse, both of Lewellen; numerous nieces and nephews; and his former wife, Zelma Rittenhouse. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2007, 10:00 a.m. at Grace United Methodist Church, 4905 E. Yale Ave, Denver. A viewing will be held at the Church prior to the services from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Clare will be taken to Nebraska for burial. A viewing will be held at the Holechek Funeral Home on Monday, April 2, 2007, from 10:00-11:00a.m. Graveside services will be conducted at the Ash Creek Cemetery, Lewellen, Nebraska at 11:30 a.m. Memorial donations may be made to Grace United Methodist Church, Denver, CO., or A memorial fund has been established at the Senior Citizen Center, Oshkosh, Nebraska. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, From whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, Which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper; The Lord is thy shade upon the right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; He shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and Thy coming in from this time forth, And even for evermore. CROSSING THE BAR Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell, Whe I embark; For tho' from out my bourne of Time and Place The flood may carry me far, I hope to see my pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.