Margaret Peggy S. Ritch

Margaret Shand Ritch, a popular condominium association president and daughter of one of America’s leading journalists of the 1950s and 1960s, died on Oct. 2 at Suburban Hospital with family at her bedside. She was 83.

Mrs. Ritch was born on March 25, 1932 in New York City to Robert G. and Margaret Dalton Shand. Her father later became executive editor of the New York Daily News, then the largest circulation newspaper in America.

Mrs. Ritch was graduated from the Spence School in New York City before enrolling at Mills College in California, where she was graduated with a bachelors degree. While at Mills, the then-Miss Shand met James McLeod Ritch, a student at the University of California at Berkeley.

She and Mr. Ritch were married in New York City. After the ceremony, they returned to the San Francisco Bay area, moving several times as Mr. Ritch worked as an editor at small newspapers. A son, James Shand Ritch, and daughter, then Karen Somerset Ritch, were born during this time.

In 1959, the family moved to Chicago, IL, when Mr. Ritch became a reporter and, later, editor, for the Chicago Tribune. He covered civil rights and the protests of the 1960s, riding to Washington on one of the Freedom Trains to cover the

March on Washington. The family resided on Chicago’s north side and then suburban Lincolnwood.

Mrs. Ritch and her family moved to Williams Lane in Chevy Chase, MD, in 1969. The street, originally a long lane leading to the Williams Family farmhouse, is to this day just one block long with a stop sign near its midpoint, although no intersection is there. The sign was thought to protect the block’s then roughly 70 children from speeders. Many long-time friendships were forged on the street between parties and parades and elections of the street’s own “mayor.”

During this time, Mrs. Ritch volunteered regularly at Sibley Memorial Hospital, working often at the information desk.

Mr. and Mrs. Ritch moved to Truman House on Connecticut Avenue around 1981. She served two terms as president of the condominium association, bringing wit and grace to the board’s work. She had a great gift for listening, and made owners feel that their concerns had been heard and properly represented.

Mrs. Ritch was an avid crossword fan. Many evenings were also spent playing Scrabble with family and friends at her home in Sandwich, MA, where she summered almost every year of her life. She also enjoyed knitting.

Mr. Ritch died on Nov. 26, 1993.

Mrs. Ritch is survived by a son, James Shand Ritch and his wife, Gloria, of Salisbury, MD; a daughter, Karen Ritch Ward, and her husband, Richard Talmadge, of Bedford Hills, NY; and four grandchildren, Julia Ritch, James “Mac” Ritch, Margaret Ward and Abigail Ward.

A memorial service will be held at 3:30 pm on Oct. 16 at Joseph Gawler’s Sons at 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW.