George Pierce Ritter

George Pierce Ritter was the first child of Paul Muse Ritter and Annie Ingrahm Ritter. He was born on May 19, 1939, in Jacksonville, Florida. He died peacefully in his sleep on August 6, 2026. 

While a student at Winterhaven High School in Winterhaven, Florida he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland. He graduated from USNA in June 1961 and was Commissioned as a Naval Officer on the same date. 

While at the Academy he participated in track and cross-country running and was ranked seventh in his class in mathematics. He served on the USS DuPont and then the USS MacDonough. He was on the USS MacDonough during the Cuban Blockade. 

Following his naval service George attended Loyola Marymount University School of law where he served on the Loyola Law Review and graduated cum Laude. 

He practiced law in California until 2010 when he and his wife, Bilenda Harris-Ritter, moved to her home state of Arkansas. After taking the Arkansas Bar Exam, George and Bilenda opened Ritter Law and George continued the practice of law until his retirement in 2022.

In 2022 he received the Frank White Award from the Republican Party of Arkansas for his legal work and service to the Party. George wrote and published four books. They are Due Process Denied- Why the Fourteenth Amendment Never Became Part of the Constitution; You can Count on Numbers; Beginner's Guide to Classical Greek Mathematics and Visual Trigonometry. 

George served a term on the Board of Trustees for the Arkansas Veterans Cemetery. He also provided pro-bono legal assistance through the Arkansas National Guard JAG office at Camp Robinson and served for several years as the General Counsel to the Republican Party of Arkansas. He was an Elector in the2020 Electoral College. In 2025 he received a citation from the Arkansas House of Representatives for his work on behalf of the citizens of Arkansas.

George is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Bilenda Harris-Ritter, his stepson, Brendan Werner, his daughters Susanna and Elizabeth, his sister Lucy Todd and his brother Muse Ritter. 

A private service and inurnment will be at the United States Naval Academy Columbarium on a date to be announced. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the United States Naval Academy Class of 1961 through the USNA Alumni Association or to Alzheimer's Arkansas.