Photo Courtesy of Douglas Cannon Former Bloomfield 3rd Ward Councilwoman Patricia Ritchings, pictured in an undated photo, died Dec. 2 at her home on Maolis Avenue.
Former Bloomfield 3rd Ward Councilwoman Patricia Ritchings, pictured in an undated photo, died Dec. 2 at her home on Maolis Avenue.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Patricia Ritchings, 59, a former Bloomfield 3rd Ward councilwoman and, by every account, an uncommon public servant, died Dec. 2, at her Maolis Avenue home, surrounded by family, after a long standoff with cancer.
Ritchings wore several public hats. She was a founding member, in the mid-’90s, of the influential Watsessing Heights Neighborhood Association and served as president of the Bloomfield Center Alliance. Beginning in 2002, she represented the 3rd Ward for two three-year terms. Professionally, she worked for the NYC Department of Corrections and then for Osborne Associates, a nonprofit organization assisting those formerly incarcerated.
Her husband, Douglas Cannon, said in an interview at their home this week that his wife was first diagnosed with cancer 15 years ago. She received treatment and it initially went into remission.
“She was very strong,” Cannon said. “She went seven years before it came back. She was virtually on treatment every week for the last eight years and never complained.
“She was always planning for the future,” he continued. “But when we started hospice, she wasn’t scared or worried about herself. She was worried about me and the kids.”
Cannon said he met his future wife when they were students at Point Pleasant Borough High School. He was a senior and she was a sophomore. They dated a few times and, when he graduated in 1979, he headed off to Montclair State University to study art. He became — and still is — a professional photographer. Ritchings, who was her high school’s homecoming queen, graduated in 1981 and attended Pace University, majoring in quantitative analysis.
“She had a mind for numbers,” Cannon said. “And she liked helping people. That’s why she left NYC Corrections and joined Osborne, because then she was helping people who had been in jail. She even gave out her phone number when she was on the township council. People told her not to, but if you say what you’re going to do and do it, people will reward you.”
Cannon said that, after college, in 1986, he and Ritchings ran into each other down the Shore. At the time, he said, in the back of his mind he told himself that, if they got back together, they would marry.
“We had a connection that never went away,” he said.
Cannon also confessed that his future wife said she liked the way he had matured.
“If you knew Pat, she was always the smartest person in the room,” he said. “I liked that about her. She was smart and beautiful and you couldn’t ask for more.”
They were married in 1990 at Oakeside Cultural Center in Bloomfield.
“We didn’t live here, but a friend suggested Oakeside,” Cannon said. “We were married by the mayor, Jimmy Gasparini.”
Cannon, whose family was from Essex County, and Ritchings purchased their Maolis Avenue home in 1991.
“We moved in right around Halloween,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the number of kids. This was a big neighborhood for Halloween. We had to go out for extra candy.”
Friends also remembered Ritchings this week.
“She got a lot accomplished for her constituents in the 3rd Ward,” former Mayor Ray McCarthy said, “maybe more than anyone else.”
He recalled the time when a builder wanted apartments in the ward and a concerned Ritchings brought people together to discuss it.
“It was a win-win situation,” McCarthy said.
He acknowledged that Ritchings’ support was important when he ran for mayor in 2003.
“Those people in Watsessing Heights helped me out,” he said. “But Pat was also a good family woman and a good woman.”
Janice Litterio-Frazzano, who served on the council with Ritchings, said what she liked most about Ritchings was that she was not an automatic “yes” vote.
“She did her background work,” Litterio-Frazzano said. “Her children have a wonderful example of someone who contributed to society.”
Municipal clerk Louise Palagano agreed that Ritchings was a hard worker.
“It was obvious she read all the backup material and had done her own reading,” Palagano said. “The one thing that stands out is that she had such thought-provoking questions.”
Councilman Nick Joanow, who knew Ritchings from her WHNA work, also agreed.
“She did her homework and it really stood out,” he said. “She was a consummate councilperson and certainly set a standard that is exemplary.”
Anne Prince, who, with others, founded the WHNA with Ritchings, said Ritchings was a perfect example of a public servant.
“There’s no telling where she could have gone,” Prince said.
Public Works Director Anthony Nesto, who frequently had lunch with Ritchings, said she was more of a resident than a politician.
“That’s how she went about her business,” he said.
Cannon would also agree.
“She was more about serving the people instead of serving politics,” he said. “Maybe she was such a hard worker because she was the youngest of seven children.”
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