Without Carlette Axel Ritter, horse racing in the Virgin Islands won’t be the same, friends and family members said at his memorial service on Saturday at the Road Town Methodist Church.
Mr. Ritter, a contractor and entrepreneur, died Aug. 13 at Peebles Hospital after several months of illness. He was 69.
After growing up in Huntums Ghut, he migrated to St. Thomas like many Virgin Islanders of his generation. There he married Marva Warner on June 15, 1968.
Mr. Ritter spent the 1970s and 1980s in New York, where he worked as a construction contractor and operated a nightclub that catered to Caribbean expatriates, according to the funeral booklet.
In the 1990s, Mr. Ritter returned to the territory. He continued his work as a contractor, building many homes in the territory and investing in properties. In his tribute to the entrepreneur, Premier Dr. Orlando Smith called him a stalwart in the community, and praised his construction work as “going the extra mile.”
Mr. Ritter was buried at the Methodist Burial Ground in Long Bush.
See the Aug. 30, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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