Obituary of Jiles Andrew Ritnour

Jiles Andrew Ritnour, Jr. passed away at home in Syracuse on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020 (age 90). He was born in Baltimore, MD on August 15,1929 to Jiles Andrew Ritnour and Frances Baumer. By the time Jiles Jr. was a year old, his father, a WW1 veteran, died from tuberculosis. Jiles was raised by his grandmother. Times were tough during the Depression. They sometimes lived with relatives on a farm, where the city boy learned that milking was easier if he sang to the cow.

Jiles enlisted in the military two weeks after his 17th birthday and rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the Army Air Corps/Air Force, serving for 6 1/2 years. He is classified as both a WW2 and Korean War veteran. Last spring, he joined other veterans on an Honor Flight from Syracuse, traveling to DC. Jiles served as a radio operator aboard search and rescue planes, using Morse code which he remembered into his 90th year.

Later he learned to operate radar equipment, putting him in line for what would become a 40-plus-year career with the FAA. He loved being an Air Traffic Controller, working at Washington National (now Reagan, where a runway intersection is named JILES in his honor) and Syracuse Hancock, retiring after age 70. 

He was a communicant and sometime usher at St. Daniel Church. He was also an avid bowler, but in later life found great enjoyment watching sports on TV with close friends at his favorite Irish pub, Guilfoil’s.

Jiles rode his Harley Davidson until he was 85. He will be remembered for his drive for freedom on the road, passion for his work, dedication to his family, lion-heart, strong will, and generosity.

Jiles will be missed by family, friends and loved ones. Surviving Jiles are wife Mary, daughter Danya Eades, her husband Drew, grandchildren Sebastian and Nadya, daughter Maggie Ritnour, cousin Dorothy Stavola, nephews Guy and Joe Stavola, and granddaughter Cindy Patterson.

A memorial will be scheduled later. In lieu of flowers, please donate to https://www.gofundme.com/f/murphyweissman-family-fund