Evelyn (Cissy) Bradford Ritz’s outdoor pursuits included tennis, golf, gardening, skiing, and anything on the beach, her family said. She was treasurer of the Friends of the Hampton Library in Bridgehampton for 18 years, and over her lifetime served on various committees for the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church. She volunteered for the food pantry at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in that hamlet, in addition to giving her time to a host of local organizations and causes.
Ms. Ritz, of Hildreth Avenue in Bridgehampton, died last Thursday at Peconic Landing in Greenport. She was 86.
After graduating from Keuka College in Keuka Park, N.Y., she worked in New York City for Allied Graphic Arts while studying for her teaching certification at Hunter College.
Returning to the South Fork, she married Frederick W. Ritz of Bridgehampton on Jan. 10, 1962. They raised their family in his childhood home on Hildreth Avenue. Ms. Ritz taught third grade in Riverhead and substituted at Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, and Sag Harbor schools.
She later became a real estate broker and worked in that industry for more than 30 years, including at Meadow Real Estate in Southampton, Braverman, Newbold, and Brennan in Bridgehampton, and Sotheby’s International Real Estate, also in Bridgehampton.
Ms. Ritz and her husband, who died in 2019, were members of the Bridgehampton Club, the Shelter Island Yacht Club, the Sag Harbor Yacht Club, and the Coral Beach and Tennis Club in Bermuda. She also belonged to the East Hampton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Evelyn Bradford was born in East Hampton on Sept. 18, 1938, three days before the infamous “Long Island Express” Category 3 hurricane made landfall, to Henry William Bradford and Evelyn Talmage Bradford of Buell Lane. She grew up there and attended school in East Hampton.
She is survived by two children, Caroleigh Ritz Evarts of Norwalk, Conn., and Frederick Ritz of Water Mill, and by their spouses, Win Evarts and Samone Ritz. She leaves six grandchildren and one great-grandson. A sister, Ann B. Roarick of East Hampton, also survives. A brother, Henry Bradford, died before her.
There will be a private burial on Saturday at Edgewood Cemetery in Bridgehampton. A celebration of her life will be held this summer.
Ms. Ritz’s family has suggested memorial contributions to the Hampton Library, P.O. Box 3025, Bridgehampton 11932.
