Nadia Harriet Ritchey

HAMILTON - Nadia Harriet Benson Ritchey died peacefully on May 11, 2009, at the age of 88 at the Discovery Care Centre, where she received loving care for two years.

Born in Hamilton, Montana, on April 6, 1921, Nadia's parents were Homer and Ethlyn Chambers Benson. She grew up in the part of old Hamilton known as the Pine Grove Addition with her three sisters and one brother, graduating from Hamilton High School in 1938.

In 1942, Nadia moved to Fort Stevens, Oregon, where she was a secretary in the U.S. Engineering Department. While there, she met her future husband, Lou Ritchey, at a USO dance. Lou and Nadia were married at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Reno, Nevada, on May 27, 1944.

At the end of WWII, Lou and Nadia established their home in Los Angeles, California, where their two daughters Virginia and Mary Ann grew up. In 1967, they came back to the Bitterroot Valley, living first in Hamilton and then in Corvallis. Nadia was employed in the office of Marcus Daly Hospital, both the old and new ones, for several years. She was a member of St. Francis Catholic Church, where she had been baptized in 1921. She enjoyed being a homemaker, was a gifted seamstress, and was very active with Lou in the Old Time Fiddlers. She had a lasting love for the beauty of the Bitterroot Valley, especially the West Fork area where she and the family spent countless happy hours.

Preceding Nadia in death were her parents, three sisters, and her brother, as well as her husband of 60 years, Lou. She is survived by daughter Virginia Massey; daughter Mary Ann Darby and her husband Creg; son-in-law Campbell Massey; five grandsons: Jeff Massey and his wife Nikki McNair, Neil Massey and his wife Verna, Alan Massey, Patrick Darby and John Darby; and three great-grand children: Niamh Massey, and Silas and Mira Massey. Also surviving are dear friends Rod and Sandy Herrick, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made in Nadia's name to the Hamilton Public Library (306 State St., Hamilton, 59840). Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com.