“He was the quintessential Wabash gentleman,” Wabash College President Pat White said upon hearing of Ristine’s passing. “He was courageous in times of trouble, humble in times of great success, and through it all, wise and caring, generous and kind, with an amiable spirit marked by wit and humor and a fine appreciation of life and learning.
“He loved Wabash with a deep and abiding love and served the College in extraordinary ways over so many years. We will all miss him so very much."
Born in Crawfordsville, Ristine practically grew up on the Wabash campus, visiting his uncle, Professor Insley Osborne, attending Commencement ceremonies, even serving as Wabash President Louis Hopkins’ driver during his student days.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wabash, won the prestigious John Maurice Butler Prize for scholarship and character, and was Commencement speaker for his Class of 1941. After earning his law degree from Columbia University, he served in World War II with the Army Air Corps in the Philippines and Japan.
Following his honorable discharge in 1946, he married Mary Lou (“Lou”) Durrett, to whom he had written a letter nearly every day during his military service.
After launching his legal career with the Baker & Daniels law firm in Indianapolis, he moved his family to Crawfordsville to practice law here. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-great grandfather, who had served in the Indiana General Assembly, he was elected in 1950 to the Indiana State Senate.
Elected Lieutenant Governor in 1960, Ristine cast the deciding vote in 1963 to establish the state sales tax, one of the most dramatic moments in Indiana's legislative history and an act of political courage that probably cost him the Governor’s office.
Recalling that vote, historian Geoff Paddock wrote in Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History magazine, "Public service is a noble calling, and standing up for principle is more important than political gain. Perhaps no Hoosier has exemplified that spirit any better than Richard O. Ristine."
In Indianapolis he was a vice president of L.S. Ayres before becoming executive vice-president of Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Ristine served as chairman of the Indiana State Historical Society, was named Sagamore of the Wabash by six Republican and four Democrat governors, and worked for the protection of Sugar Creek in Montgomery County and with charitable organizations and conservation groups in Leelanau County, Michigan, after retiring to Leland in 1997.
He received honorary degrees from five Indiana colleges, but he was most passionate about Wabash College, where he was a trustee and had served as treasurer and director of development. Thomas, one of his three sons, graduated from the College in 1972, and his grandson, Daniel, graduated as a member of the Class of 2007.
In October 2008, the College’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution celebrating Ristine’s 50 years of service to Wabash in which Board of Trustees President Stephen Bowen ’68 noted that Ristine “had brought great honor to his family and all of Wabash through a lifetime of achievement that has made him quite possibly the most widely known and respected living alumnus of the College.”
“Dick is perhaps more closely connected to this College and this town than any other person I can think of,” Wabash College Archivist Beth Swift said Monday. “His ancestors were founders of the town—The Ristine Tavern witnessed the birth of Crawfordsville. His ancestors on his mother's side were the founders of Wabash. Dick's great-grandfather sat in Caleb Mills' first class and his great grandfathers' brothers knelt in the snow. Raised just around the corner from campus and graduating with highest honors in 1941, Dick is of both the town and the college, bringing them together in a way that no other person, now living, can touch. He carried these two histories with grace, wit and a friendly charm.
“In May, I had a last chance to chat with Dick, hear a few more stories and to wish him the best. Although he was tired and his family was a little worried that he might overdo it...he had his typical enthusiasm for a good tale. He insisted that he was fine and said, ‘I could talk forever about Wabash.’ As I left Kane House that day, I cried. Not just for the lovely man we would all miss, but also for the loss to the history of this place. If a man's life is measured by the hole he leave behind, then truly, Dick Ristine was a giant among men.”
In 1990, Montgomery Magazine noted that Ristine was “not impressed by the prestigious positions he’s held and the honors he’s received.” The article then quoted Ristine: “It’s the day-to-day living and loving that really makes a life worthwhile.”
Ristine is survived by Lou, his wife of 62 years and one of only six honorary alumnae of Wabash College; three sons, Richard Ristine Jr., Thomas Ristine ’72, and James D. Ristine; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A memorial celebration will be held on June 27, 2009, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Leland Lodge in Leland, MI, and a memorial service will be held in the Wabash College Pioneer Chapel some time after the start of the 2009-2010 academic year.
Richard O. Ristine
Indianapolis Star
A memorial celebration will be held at the Leland Lodge on June 27, 2009, from 2 to 4 P.M., to honor Richard O. ("Dick") Ristine, 89, who died at home in Leland, Michigan, on June 20, 2009, after a brief illness. A memorial service will be held in the Wabash College Chapel, Crawfordsville, Indiana, at a later date.
Mr. Ristine was born January 19, 1920, the only child of Harley Thomson and Helen Osborne Ristine of Crawfordsville, Indiana. As a child he began spending summer weeks in Leland. He attended public schools in Crawfordsville and graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Wabash College. After graduating from Columbia University Law School, he served in World War II with the Army Air Corps in the Philippines and Japan until his honorable discharge as a Captain in 1946.
Later that year, he married Mary Lou Durrett of Wichita Falls, Texas. After launching his legal career with the Baker & Daniels law firm in Indianapolis, he moved his family to Crawfordsville to practice law there, as had his great-grandfather, his grandfather and his father. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-great-grandfather who had served in the Indiana General Assembly, Mr. Ristine was elected in 1950 to the Indiana State Senate, where he continued to represent Montgomery and Putnam counties through 1960, when he was elected Lieutenant Governor. In 1964, Mr. Ristine was the Republican candidate for Governor. For his 14 years in elected public office, he will be particularly remembered for his 1963 tie-breaking vote, as President of the Senate, which resulted in Indiana's first sales tax.
In Crawfordsville, he practiced law with Robert Wernle. Their firm, Wernle, Ristine and Ayers, was Indiana's second oldest law firm at the time of its dissolution in 2000. In the 1960's, following his term as Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Ristine became president of Crawfordsville's Elston Bank & Trust Co. His tenure on its board of directors spanned 31 years. Starting in Crawfordsville and continuing for over five decades, he had been an elder in the Presbyterian Church.
In Indianapolis, Mr. Ristine was a vice-president of L.S. Ayres & Co. before becoming Executive Vice-President of Lilly Endowment. During his Indianapolis era, he helped numerous corporations and nonprofit organizations pursue their missions by serving on their boards of directors. His Board service included the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, Meridian Mutual Insurance Co., Indianapolis Water Co. and L.S. Ayres & Co. Mr. Ristine was a former chairman of the Indiana Historical Society, a former vice-chairman and a life trustee of the Nature Conservancy (Indiana Chapter), former chairman of the Indiana State Board of Mental Health and the Association of Mental Health in Indiana, former vice-chairman of the Indiana Employment Security Board and of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, former chairman of the Board of Regents of the Indiana Academy, and former board member of Associated Colleges of Indiana. Throughout his life, Mr. Ristine was passionate about Wabash College. His ancestors were among the founders of the College and the town of Crawfordsville.
Among the positions he held were president of the National Association of Wabash Men and of the former Wabash College Foundation, Treasurer of the College for ten years, and Director of Development and Director for External Affairs before retiring in 1993. On the Board of Trustees he served actively for 35 years and in emeritus status for 15 years. His widow, Mary Lou ("Lou") Ristine, is the second of six honorary alumnae of the all-male college. In Leland, in his 70's and 80's, Mr. Ristine continued to serve his community, especially after Dick and Lou moved there permanently in 1997 to the home they had bought in 1975. He assisted several Leelanau County charitable organizations and township commissions, and at the time of his death, was an honorary chairman of the Leelanau Conservancy, a past director of Leelanau Children's Center and a member of the Rotary Club of Suttons Bay and Leelanau County. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by six Republican and four Democrat governors, and received honorary degrees from Wabash College, Indiana State University, Vincennes University, Indiana University and Marian College.
Mr. Ristine is survived by Lou, his wife of 62 years; their three sons, Richard O. Jr. (Karen) and Thomas H. (Jill) of Indianapolis and James D. (Mardi Black) of Leelanau Township; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Wabash College or to Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church, both of Crawfordsville, Indiana, or to the Leelanau Conservancy, the Leelanau Children's Center or Share Care of Leelanau County, all of Leland, Michigan. Arrangements are with the Martinson Funeral Home of Suttons Bay, MI.
“He loved Wabash with a deep and abiding love and served the College in extraordinary ways over so many years. We will all miss him so very much."
Born in Crawfordsville, Ristine practically grew up on the Wabash campus, visiting his uncle, Professor Insley Osborne, attending Commencement ceremonies, even serving as Wabash President Louis Hopkins’ driver during his student days.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wabash, won the prestigious John Maurice Butler Prize for scholarship and character, and was Commencement speaker for his Class of 1941. After earning his law degree from Columbia University, he served in World War II with the Army Air Corps in the Philippines and Japan.
Following his honorable discharge in 1946, he married Mary Lou (“Lou”) Durrett, to whom he had written a letter nearly every day during his military service.
After launching his legal career with the Baker & Daniels law firm in Indianapolis, he moved his family to Crawfordsville to practice law here. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-great grandfather, who had served in the Indiana General Assembly, he was elected in 1950 to the Indiana State Senate.
Elected Lieutenant Governor in 1960, Ristine cast the deciding vote in 1963 to establish the state sales tax, one of the most dramatic moments in Indiana's legislative history and an act of political courage that probably cost him the Governor’s office.
Recalling that vote, historian Geoff Paddock wrote in Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History magazine, "Public service is a noble calling, and standing up for principle is more important than political gain. Perhaps no Hoosier has exemplified that spirit any better than Richard O. Ristine."
In Indianapolis he was a vice president of L.S. Ayres before becoming executive vice-president of Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Ristine served as chairman of the Indiana State Historical Society, was named Sagamore of the Wabash by six Republican and four Democrat governors, and worked for the protection of Sugar Creek in Montgomery County and with charitable organizations and conservation groups in Leelanau County, Michigan, after retiring to Leland in 1997.
He received honorary degrees from five Indiana colleges, but he was most passionate about Wabash College, where he was a trustee and had served as treasurer and director of development. Thomas, one of his three sons, graduated from the College in 1972, and his grandson, Daniel, graduated as a member of the Class of 2007.
In October 2008, the College’s Board of Trustees passed a resolution celebrating Ristine’s 50 years of service to Wabash in which Board of Trustees President Stephen Bowen ’68 noted that Ristine “had brought great honor to his family and all of Wabash through a lifetime of achievement that has made him quite possibly the most widely known and respected living alumnus of the College.”
“Dick is perhaps more closely connected to this College and this town than any other person I can think of,” Wabash College Archivist Beth Swift said Monday. “His ancestors were founders of the town—The Ristine Tavern witnessed the birth of Crawfordsville. His ancestors on his mother's side were the founders of Wabash. Dick's great-grandfather sat in Caleb Mills' first class and his great grandfathers' brothers knelt in the snow. Raised just around the corner from campus and graduating with highest honors in 1941, Dick is of both the town and the college, bringing them together in a way that no other person, now living, can touch. He carried these two histories with grace, wit and a friendly charm.
“In May, I had a last chance to chat with Dick, hear a few more stories and to wish him the best. Although he was tired and his family was a little worried that he might overdo it...he had his typical enthusiasm for a good tale. He insisted that he was fine and said, ‘I could talk forever about Wabash.’ As I left Kane House that day, I cried. Not just for the lovely man we would all miss, but also for the loss to the history of this place. If a man's life is measured by the hole he leave behind, then truly, Dick Ristine was a giant among men.”
In 1990, Montgomery Magazine noted that Ristine was “not impressed by the prestigious positions he’s held and the honors he’s received.” The article then quoted Ristine: “It’s the day-to-day living and loving that really makes a life worthwhile.”
Ristine is survived by Lou, his wife of 62 years and one of only six honorary alumnae of Wabash College; three sons, Richard Ristine Jr., Thomas Ristine ’72, and James D. Ristine; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
A memorial celebration will be held on June 27, 2009, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Leland Lodge in Leland, MI, and a memorial service will be held in the Wabash College Pioneer Chapel some time after the start of the 2009-2010 academic year.
Richard O. Ristine
Indianapolis Star
A memorial celebration will be held at the Leland Lodge on June 27, 2009, from 2 to 4 P.M., to honor Richard O. ("Dick") Ristine, 89, who died at home in Leland, Michigan, on June 20, 2009, after a brief illness. A memorial service will be held in the Wabash College Chapel, Crawfordsville, Indiana, at a later date.
Mr. Ristine was born January 19, 1920, the only child of Harley Thomson and Helen Osborne Ristine of Crawfordsville, Indiana. As a child he began spending summer weeks in Leland. He attended public schools in Crawfordsville and graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Wabash College. After graduating from Columbia University Law School, he served in World War II with the Army Air Corps in the Philippines and Japan until his honorable discharge as a Captain in 1946.
Later that year, he married Mary Lou Durrett of Wichita Falls, Texas. After launching his legal career with the Baker & Daniels law firm in Indianapolis, he moved his family to Crawfordsville to practice law there, as had his great-grandfather, his grandfather and his father. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and great-great-grandfather who had served in the Indiana General Assembly, Mr. Ristine was elected in 1950 to the Indiana State Senate, where he continued to represent Montgomery and Putnam counties through 1960, when he was elected Lieutenant Governor. In 1964, Mr. Ristine was the Republican candidate for Governor. For his 14 years in elected public office, he will be particularly remembered for his 1963 tie-breaking vote, as President of the Senate, which resulted in Indiana's first sales tax.
In Crawfordsville, he practiced law with Robert Wernle. Their firm, Wernle, Ristine and Ayers, was Indiana's second oldest law firm at the time of its dissolution in 2000. In the 1960's, following his term as Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Ristine became president of Crawfordsville's Elston Bank & Trust Co. His tenure on its board of directors spanned 31 years. Starting in Crawfordsville and continuing for over five decades, he had been an elder in the Presbyterian Church.
In Indianapolis, Mr. Ristine was a vice-president of L.S. Ayres & Co. before becoming Executive Vice-President of Lilly Endowment. During his Indianapolis era, he helped numerous corporations and nonprofit organizations pursue their missions by serving on their boards of directors. His Board service included the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, Meridian Mutual Insurance Co., Indianapolis Water Co. and L.S. Ayres & Co. Mr. Ristine was a former chairman of the Indiana Historical Society, a former vice-chairman and a life trustee of the Nature Conservancy (Indiana Chapter), former chairman of the Indiana State Board of Mental Health and the Association of Mental Health in Indiana, former vice-chairman of the Indiana Employment Security Board and of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, former chairman of the Board of Regents of the Indiana Academy, and former board member of Associated Colleges of Indiana. Throughout his life, Mr. Ristine was passionate about Wabash College. His ancestors were among the founders of the College and the town of Crawfordsville.
Among the positions he held were president of the National Association of Wabash Men and of the former Wabash College Foundation, Treasurer of the College for ten years, and Director of Development and Director for External Affairs before retiring in 1993. On the Board of Trustees he served actively for 35 years and in emeritus status for 15 years. His widow, Mary Lou ("Lou") Ristine, is the second of six honorary alumnae of the all-male college. In Leland, in his 70's and 80's, Mr. Ristine continued to serve his community, especially after Dick and Lou moved there permanently in 1997 to the home they had bought in 1975. He assisted several Leelanau County charitable organizations and township commissions, and at the time of his death, was an honorary chairman of the Leelanau Conservancy, a past director of Leelanau Children's Center and a member of the Rotary Club of Suttons Bay and Leelanau County. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by six Republican and four Democrat governors, and received honorary degrees from Wabash College, Indiana State University, Vincennes University, Indiana University and Marian College.
Mr. Ristine is survived by Lou, his wife of 62 years; their three sons, Richard O. Jr. (Karen) and Thomas H. (Jill) of Indianapolis and James D. (Mardi Black) of Leelanau Township; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Memorial contributions may be made to Wabash College or to Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church, both of Crawfordsville, Indiana, or to the Leelanau Conservancy, the Leelanau Children's Center or Share Care of Leelanau County, all of Leland, Michigan. Arrangements are with the Martinson Funeral Home of Suttons Bay, MI.
Richard O. Ristine '41
Two Articles, Scroll Down for the Second.
Ristine '41 Memorial Service Saturday
by Steve Charles, Wabash College
June 22, 2009
Former Indiana Lieutenant Governor Richard O. Ristine ’41, one of Wabash College’s most beloved sons and a descendant of the founders of both Wabash College and Crawfordsville, died Saturday morning, June 20, in his home in Leland, Michigan, after a brief illness.
Two Articles, Scroll Down for the Second.
Ristine '41 Memorial Service Saturday
by Steve Charles, Wabash College
June 22, 2009
Former Indiana Lieutenant Governor Richard O. Ristine ’41, one of Wabash College’s most beloved sons and a descendant of the founders of both Wabash College and Crawfordsville, died Saturday morning, June 20, in his home in Leland, Michigan, after a brief illness.