Marvin Louis "Tex" Ritter, 71, of Millington, TN, aka "The Roadrunner", founding member of the Saratoga Three and Tex Ritter''s Hawg Cookin'' Critters, began his last great adventure Thursday, December 13, 2012. He died at home of natural causes. Tex was born March 7, 1941 in Louisville, Kentucky to Alphonse and Mary Ritter. Tex was the second of three children: John was his older brother, Mary Carol his younger sister. Tex excelled in sports in his younger days, playing football, baseball and basketball, and longed to follow his brother John to Flaget High School, but his parents decided Trinity High was the better fit for him. Tex excelled at Trinity as well, where he was Treasurer of the Junior Class. Tex met his first love, Norma Jean Doll, during high school and they had one child, Colleen Marie Ritter. After high school, Tex joined the Navy. He received his basic training at Great Lakes Training Command in Great Lakes, IL. He served on the USS Howard D. Crow (DE-252) out of Galveston, Texas prior to being transferred to the Naval Air Station in Millington, TN in August 1963. In December 1966, Tex was deployed overseas with USN MCB-62 at (HVE) Phu Bai, Vietnam. He was honorably discharged in April 1967, but continued to serve for many years in the Marine Corps reserve. For his service, Tex received the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star, and the Fleet Marine Combat Insignia. In Millington, he met Gloria Jean Owen. They married in 1965 and had three children: Cindy Lee (1966), Gregory Lane (1970) and Jonathan Scott (1975) Ritter.
After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Tex worked at DuPont Memphis, where he was an operator in the ACRN plant, until its decommissioning in 1974. Tex served in many facilities at DuPont, including HCN, Stores, MMA, and made friends everywhere. He was a dependable employee and co-worker. Tex worked at DuPont until his retirement in 1996. After his retirement, Tex lived several years in Florida, basking in the sunshine, but the lure of home (and the frequent hurricanes) ultimately brought him back to Millington.
Tex first gained his passion for cooking in the Navy. Tex loved to cook for himself, his family and his friends. He was never happier than when he was cooking a big batch of chili, spaghetti, ribs, chicken, or pork shoulder. He was also a master of the cheese omelet. Tex''s first taste of competitive cooking came at Shake Rag in 1986, where he took 3rd place in ribs. That victory spurred many more competitions and trophies: 1st place at Randolph - Whole Hog - 1987, Grand Champion at Whitehaven - 1990, 1st place at VFW-St. Jude - Backyard - 1992, and 1st place at Goats Days - 1997, to name a few.Tex is survived by his children, Colleen Fults of Atlanta, Georgia; Cindy Branch and Gregory Ritter of Millington, TN; and Scott Ritter of Memphis, TN; grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, and many honorary sons and daughters, all of whom he loved dearly. Services will be held Tuesday, December 18th, 2012 at Northridge/Woodhaven Funeral Home in Millington. Visitation is from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with a short service immediately following visitation.
The family would like to thank all the many people who blessed our father with their friendship over the years. To know Tex Ritter was to love him. He may not always have had the words to say exactly what he meant, but his heart was always in the right place. Happy Trails to You, Tex Ritter. We love you.