synod tagline 

 


For all the saints, who from their labors rest...

 

 

Barbara Ada Ritchie Allran DeOrsey

 

WHITE ROCK - Barbara Ada Ritchie Allran DeOrsey, 81, of White Rock, died February 28, 2012, at the Heritage at Lowman.

 

A memorial service will be conducted from Living Word Chapel at the Health and Rehabilitation Center at the Heritage at Lowman in White Rock, by the Rev. Brett Collins on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at 11:30 a.m. The family will greet friends prior to the service in the same location at 11:00 a.m.

 

Barbara was born in Rocky Mount, NC, January 12, 1931, to the Rev. Dr. C. Ross and Ada Brady Ritchie and spent her early childhood and youth in Lexington, NC, where her father was a pastor. After graduating from Lexington High School, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in education at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC, in 1953. Her first teaching experience was at Mt. Pleasant Consolidated School in Mt. Pleasant, NC 1953-56.

 

In 1956 Barbara pursued further education at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC, where, as one of the first two female graduates of that institution, she received her Master of Arts degree in religion in 1958. She then became director of Christian Education at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Akron, Ohio. In 1959 she became DCE at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Hickory, NC, and served there until her marriage in 1961 to the Rev. Wayne Sullivan Allran, who was pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church in Tarpon Springs, FL. In addition to being a dedicated pastor's wife, Barbara also resumed her teaching career. She taught elementary grades in the Manatee County School System, Bradenton, FL, from 1962 until her husband's death in 1994 and was much beloved by her students. In 1975 she earned the EDS degree from the University of South Florida, in Tampa. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Education Society and the Alpha Sigma Kappa Educational Sorority.

 

After her husband's death Barbara moved into the Dayspring Community on the Heritage at Lowman campus at White Rock, SC, and became active in campus life there. Sometime later she received communication from a former college classmate, Ronald F. DeOrsey, whom she had dated at Lenoir-Rhyne. This renewal of friendships eventually led to their marriage.

 

Barbara was predeceased by her parents and her brother, the Rev. C. Ross Ritchie, Jr. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Jo Anne Ritchie, of Chapin; four nieces and spouses, Janice and Sam Barbee, Joanna and Cliff Britt, Kathryn (Katie) and Jimmy Lippard, all of Winston-Salem, and Camilla (Cammie) and Pat Berger of Fort Mill; one nephew and spouse, C. Ross III and Yvonne Poole Ritchie of Charlotte; as well as 15 great-nieces and nephews: Drew and Anna Kathryn Barbee, Ryenne and Duncan Ritchie, Zachary, Maxwell, Benjamin and Josie Britt, Kirk, Keenan, Anderson, Ross and Jacob Lippard, and Grant and Preston Berger.

 

The family would like to express sincere appreciation to the staff at the Heritage at Lowman Nursing Center, especially those in the Damascus Wing throughout the past years, and to Lutheran Hospice for their loving care.

 

Memorials may be made to Lenoir-Rhyne University, the Rev. Dr. Clarence Ross Ritchie Sr. Endowment For Excellence in Teaching, P.O Box 7163, Hickory, NC 28603; or to Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, the Rev. Dr. Clarence Ross Ritchie Sr. Endowment for Faculty Support, 4201 North Main Street, Columbia, SC 29203; or to the Heritage at Lowman, P.O. Box 444, White Rock, SC 29177 or Bethel Lutheran Church, P.O. Box 367, White Rock, SC 29177.  

 
 
Almighty God, source of all mercy and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray, with those who mourn, that, casting all their sorrow on you, they may know the consolation of your love; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

- Prayer from the Lutheran Book of Worship

 

 

803-765-0590