George Ritter

George William Ritter

George Ritter was born in Vermilion on June 30, 1886. His parents, John and Louise, had moved to Vermilion where John established himself as a tailor, continuing in his business until his death in 1903.

George attended school in Vermilion, graduating with the class of 1902. He enrolled at Baldwin University and Cleveland Law School, receiving his law degree in 1906. To pay for his education, he worked each summer stringing twine and making gill nets. According to an article in The Vermilion News, “George became the fastest stringer along the lake, and could turn out more nets than anyone.”

Although George never moved back to Vermilion permanently, the family homestead on Main Street was a frequent stop during the summer months. In 1911, he married Mary Fowler of Berlin Heights. After practicing law for several years in Sandusky, George moved to Toledo in 1913, becoming a partner in the firm of Kohn, Ritter, Northup and McMahon.  In 1917, he organized his own firm with Leland Gardner. From 1925-1953, he was associated with the Willys Corp., later reorganized as the Willys - Overland Motors, Inc.

Citizens of Vermilion are not the only ones benefiting from George’s philanthropy: The University of Toledo received a planetarium and observatory in 1963, Baldwin-Wallace College benefited from a new library, Lake Erie College in Painesville constructed the Mary Ritter Hall dormitory and Ohio State University was able to develop the Ohio Legal Center.