Betty Jane (Pierpont) Ritter, Born August 22, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, passed away on March 19, 2025 after a five-year struggle with Lewy Body Dementia. 

Predeceased by her parents, husband Kenneth C. Ritter, and siblings Richard Pierpont, Dorothy (Pierpont) Fortier, Robert Pierpont and sister-in-law Greta (Muller) Pierpont. Survived by her daughter Karen Ritter Bienz, son-in-law Thomas Bienz, grandchildren Sierra Bienz, Bryce Bienz and Eleanora Olwen, and sister-in-law Mary Louise Pierpont, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Betty attended Forest Elementary school graduating the 8th grade with an Award for Perseverance after her father passed away that year. After graduating West Haven High School in 1964, she earned a BA in Education from Southern Connecticut State College (now University) and additionally a Master of Education and 6th year in Administration. Those advanced degrees were earned while teaching full-time and raising a family.  

Betty began working at a young age, taking a job at New Haven Savings Bank in West Haven. She enjoyed having her own spending money and saved up for her first car, a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. She continued to take pride in the vehicles she chose and drove throughout her life, particularly her Nissan 300Z (with a T-top) and both her Infinity J30 and QX50. But no doubt, the most memorable car was her 1982 Nissan 280z Turbo in French Beige with cranberry interior. On a spring afternoon as she was leaving the bank teller’s drive-up window, the accelerator stuck and she ended up launching into a small evergreen tree with tires off the ground like an Evel Knievel stunt. She was lucky to have only broken her wrist in that crazy accident!

Betty taught in the West Haven School system, beginning her career in kindergarten at Union School and then at Savin Rock Community School in 2nd and 3rd grades. Betty referred to students as “her kids” and cared for each of them. She spoke of her greatest challenges and rewards coming from an inclusion class that had 3 physically handicapped students. She retired in June of 2000 after 33 years of teaching.

Betty enjoyed being with extended family and was an excellent cook and baker, using skills her mother taught her and trying new recipes from Bon Appétit and Cooking Light magazines. She also loved all Connecticut pizzas and a good split-down-the-middle Hummel Brothers hotdog! She would host large holiday gatherings at their Woodbridge home, and prepared a formal sit-down dinner for 42 teenagers in their dining room to celebrate her daughter’s Sweet 16.

She asked Ken to her sorority dance her junior year of high school. Betty was his blushing bride in 1966 and became a mom the following year. They lived their first married year on the UConn Campus, and the next ten in West Haven as they settled into their careers. In 1978, they built a home in Woodbridge where they resided until 2001, when they moved to Laramie, WY to be closer to their daughter and grandchildren.

The first two years in Laramie, Betty took care of her husband, as the course of his ALS claimed more of his body each day. She was by him day and night learning all she needed as fulltime caregiver to Ken while he was bedridden and ventilator dependent. They watched TV together, ate meals together and laughed when things were awkward or not going as they should, and she was always trying to raise his spirits.

In 2003, she adopted her first of 3 Australian Shepherds, naming him Kacey. Her later dogs Jiff and Jasper were great sources of companionship for her. She built her dream home on the north side of Laramie in 2005 and lived there until her move to a memory care assisted living facility in 2023. In that home, she loved watching the sunset from her sunroom while her dogs played in the yard, and enjoyed having her family over to watch Fourth of July fireworks together from the deck.

For the last 28 years, she enjoyed the heck out of being a grandmother, attending all the local swim meets, choir concerts, guitar and string recitals, and anything else the kids had going on. She was proud of her grandchildren and glad she could live nearby and be a part of their lives, from volunteering in their elementary classrooms to keeping Hershey’s chocolates in constant supply in her candy jar. The kids loved their weekly “Grandma Dates” when she would make their favorite meals of pasta, mac ’n’ cheese, or hotdogs.

In her retirement years, she pursued her love of horse racing by owning shares in Thoroughbreds that she traveled the country to watch on the racetrack. She loved visiting them in their stalls to give them treats just as much as cheering them to the finish line. She especially loved when her horses wore her “lucky number five.”

Betty was always a student, constantly studying new subjects and pursuing new hobbies from ceramics to oil painting, learning the stock market to memorizing roulette betting strategies, and earning her real estate license to practicing Tai Chi. Her favorite books included biographies of famous people and animals. She continued to cheer on the UConn Husky basketball team and the NY Yankees any chance she could.

Betty will be laid to rest next to her husband in Greenhill Cemetery on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 at 3 pm.  In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift in her memory to a local animal shelter as Betty loved all furry creatures. 

Betty would encourage you to pursue your passions, to remain curious, to always find the humor in your situation, and to love every moment you spend with family and friends. She will be missed.