John R. Ritter, 62, of Neffs died on April 16, 2013, in Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, where he received the very best of care for complications related to a bone marrow transplant for cancer.

He was born into a family that settled in the Lehigh Valley in 1731.

Clarence and Arline Ritter, his parents, eventually moved to Allentown's West End, where he attended Muhlenberg Elementary School and Raub Junior High, and graduated from Allen High School in 1968.

Proud of his Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, he was a student of his family's history and a believer in the values he was taught.

He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts, later graduated from East Stroudsburg University, worked at various jobs and then decided to teach high school English.

He loved his students and worked hard to create a caring and challenging learning environment for them.

He retired in 2010 from Parkland High School after teaching for 30 years.

Because he cared about his colleagues and his profession, he was active in the Parkland Education Association as a building representative, negotiator and president.

He was also active in the Pennsylvania State Education Association.

His interest in politics went far beyond education.

He believed Pennsylvania needed common sense solutions to problems that would preserve the quality of life he experienced while growing up, so he ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 187th District.

He loved the outdoors, especially a family home in the Poconos and his big backyard where he could care for a large garden

In addition to his his wife, Lynn (nee Burner), he is survived by sons Dr. Seth and wife Rebecca Taylor, of Pittsburgh, and granddaughters Annabel and Eliza; Michael and wife Meredith Mulcahy of Boston, Mass.; and Zacchary Ritter and Sharon Kang of Baltimore, Md.; brother Dr. Robert C. and wife, Susan, of Viola, Idaho, and their sons Joshua and Lincoln of Brooklyn, N.Y.

He also is survived by the loving Burner family; father-in-law and mother-in-law, George and Marie; brothers-in-law, George Robert, Harry and Gary and their families; his aunt Miriam (Unangst) Ritter and cousin Robert V. Ritter and wife, Susan, and their children Robert V. Ritter III and Sara, all of the Lehigh Valley.

Cousins Carl Schmoyer, wife, Deborah, and Judy Labenberg and their families mourn John's death.

Contributions may be sent to Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 Hamilton St., Allentown, PA 18102.

Arrangements made by Trexler Funeral Home, Allentown.