Obituary—Mary (Hessian) Rittenhouse Dies, Ex-librarian
Mary Hessian Rittenhouse, 60, credited with turning The Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette Library into a modern newspaper department, died August 26, 1980, in St. Joseph's Hospital. Mass will be held at 7 pm today in St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 24th Street and Cambell. Graveside services will be on Friday at 11 am in the cemetery in Williams. Mrs. Rittenhouse had been a volunteer worker at St. Joseph's Hospital for 15 years and was named outstanding volunteer in 1979. She was born in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, and received a bachelor of arts degree in education from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. She taught American history, English, and Latin for two years at Wheaton High School in Minnesota. She moved to Phoenix in 1947 to become head librarian for the Phoenix newspapers. Under her direction, the library expanded into a highly efficient operation that won the praise of management, reporting, and editorial staff. She left the position to become a homemaker in 1959, two years after marrying Thomas L. Rittenhouse, an engineer and vice president of the Del E. Webb Corp. In an editorial of tribute when she left the newspapers, The Arizona Republic stated: "Newspaper librarians get little credit in public, at least for the backstopping job they do. But no metropolitan newspaper could run efficiently without them, and we at The Republic and Gazette know how much we owe Mary Rittenhouse and her associates. "We wish her well as she drops her scissors for a broom, and we hope she can find her pots and pans as easily as a newspaper clipping." Mrs. Rittenhouse was a Phoenix Press Club charter member, serving three terms as a director and treasurer. She was a member of the Heard Museum. In addition to her husband, survivors are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Hessian, and two sisters.
Mary Hessian Rittenhouse, 60, credited with turning The Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette Library into a modern newspaper department, died August 26, 1980, in St. Joseph's Hospital. Mass will be held at 7 pm today in St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 24th Street and Cambell. Graveside services will be on Friday at 11 am in the cemetery in Williams. Mrs. Rittenhouse had been a volunteer worker at St. Joseph's Hospital for 15 years and was named outstanding volunteer in 1979. She was born in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, and received a bachelor of arts degree in education from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. She taught American history, English, and Latin for two years at Wheaton High School in Minnesota. She moved to Phoenix in 1947 to become head librarian for the Phoenix newspapers. Under her direction, the library expanded into a highly efficient operation that won the praise of management, reporting, and editorial staff. She left the position to become a homemaker in 1959, two years after marrying Thomas L. Rittenhouse, an engineer and vice president of the Del E. Webb Corp. In an editorial of tribute when she left the newspapers, The Arizona Republic stated: "Newspaper librarians get little credit in public, at least for the backstopping job they do. But no metropolitan newspaper could run efficiently without them, and we at The Republic and Gazette know how much we owe Mary Rittenhouse and her associates. "We wish her well as she drops her scissors for a broom, and we hope she can find her pots and pans as easily as a newspaper clipping." Mrs. Rittenhouse was a Phoenix Press Club charter member, serving three terms as a director and treasurer. She was a member of the Heard Museum. In addition to her husband, survivors are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Hessian, and two sisters.
Obituary—Mary (Hessian) Rittenhouse Dies, Ex-librarian
Mary Hessian Rittenhouse, 60, credited with turning The Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette Library into a modern newspaper department, died August 26, 1980, in St. Joseph's Hospital. Mass will be held at 7 pm today in St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 24th Street and Cambell. Graveside services will be on Friday at 11 am in the cemetery in Williams. Mrs. Rittenhouse had been a volunteer worker at St. Joseph's Hospital for 15 years and was named outstanding volunteer in 1979. She was born in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, and received a bachelor of arts degree in education from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. She taught American history, English, and Latin for two years at Wheaton High School in Minnesota. She moved to Phoenix in 1947 to become head librarian for the Phoenix newspapers. Under her direction, the library expanded into a highly efficient operation that won the praise of management, reporting, and editorial staff. She left the position to become a homemaker in 1959, two years after marrying Thomas L. Rittenhouse, an engineer and vice president of the Del E. Webb Corp. In an editorial of tribute when she left the newspapers, The Arizona Republic stated: "Newspaper librarians get little credit in public, at least for the backstopping job they do. But no metropolitan newspaper could run efficiently without them, and we at The Republic and Gazette know how much we owe Mary Rittenhouse and her associates. "We wish her well as she drops her scissors for a broom, and we hope she can find her pots and pans as easily as a newspaper clipping." Mrs. Rittenhouse was a Phoenix Press Club charter member, serving three terms as a director and treasurer. She was a member of the Heard Museum. In addition to her husband, survivors are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Hessian, and two sisters.
Mary Hessian Rittenhouse, 60, credited with turning The Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette Library into a modern newspaper department, died August 26, 1980, in St. Joseph's Hospital. Mass will be held at 7 pm today in St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 24th Street and Cambell. Graveside services will be on Friday at 11 am in the cemetery in Williams. Mrs. Rittenhouse had been a volunteer worker at St. Joseph's Hospital for 15 years and was named outstanding volunteer in 1979. She was born in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, and received a bachelor of arts degree in education from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. She taught American history, English, and Latin for two years at Wheaton High School in Minnesota. She moved to Phoenix in 1947 to become head librarian for the Phoenix newspapers. Under her direction, the library expanded into a highly efficient operation that won the praise of management, reporting, and editorial staff. She left the position to become a homemaker in 1959, two years after marrying Thomas L. Rittenhouse, an engineer and vice president of the Del E. Webb Corp. In an editorial of tribute when she left the newspapers, The Arizona Republic stated: "Newspaper librarians get little credit in public, at least for the backstopping job they do. But no metropolitan newspaper could run efficiently without them, and we at The Republic and Gazette know how much we owe Mary Rittenhouse and her associates. "We wish her well as she drops her scissors for a broom, and we hope she can find her pots and pans as easily as a newspaper clipping." Mrs. Rittenhouse was a Phoenix Press Club charter member, serving three terms as a director and treasurer. She was a member of the Heard Museum. In addition to her husband, survivors are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Hessian, and two sisters.
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