Ritchie Marcus, 80, passed away peacefully on September 17, 2021, at Hospice Home Care, Little Rock, Arkansas, with her family and friends by her side.
Ritchie was born August 1, 1941, to the late Gerald (Jerry) and Martha Jeanne Marcus, in Kansas City, Missouri. She attended Southwest High School until her junior year, then graduated from Shawnee Mission East High School in 1959, following the family’s move to Prairie Village, Kansas. She attended the University of Missouri her freshman year, returning to Kansas City, where she worked at Woolf Brothers on the Country Club Plaza.
In 1963, Ritchie got married and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where she worked in sales at M.M. Cohn’s until the store closed in 2007. She then worked at Belk Department Store, where she continued her over 50-year career as a specialist with Clinique Cosmetics. She retired from Belk in March of 2020, following their COVID-19 layoffs.
Ritchie loved spending time decorating her home and working countless hours in her garden. Family and friends alike marveled at her skill and talent for making both “magazine worthy.” Ritchie had a beautiful “infectious” smile, a very young spirit, and met life’s many challenges with a positive attitude.
Her love for dance and music started at a very young age, and she even appeared on American Bandstand on one occasion. Ritchie loved our country, volunteering for many years as an election worker for many national, state and local elections.
Ritchie is survived by her son, Jeffrey Spector of Florida; her sister, Judi Marcus Farinelli of Olathe, Kansas; two nieces, Gennifer Levey of Brattleboro, Vermont, and Megan Hankins of Olathe, Kansas; two great-nieces, Emery and Rosie Hankins; and a great-nephew, Isaac Hankins. Ritchie will be missed by her family, friends, and neighbors.
Ritchie requested no services, but asked that we celebrate her life with loving thoughts and memories.
