His official title may have been that of the Mayor of Lehighton.

But to those who had the privilege of knowing him, Clark A. “Shorty” Ritter bled maroon and white, through and through.

Ritter, 78, of Lehighton, died Wednesday in his residence. He was the husband of Carol A. (Kimmel) Ritter. They celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on Jan. 6.

Up until his passing, Ritter had served as mayor of Lehighton for the past seven years.

Reaction from peers

Lehighton Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky said she first became acquainted with Ritter and his wife, Carol, when they all joined the Lehighton Sesquicentennial Planning Committee.

“Through our working together to celebrate Lehighton’s 150 years, I witnessed how much Clark loved his hometown and its community of people,” Abelovsky said. We quickly built a strong friendship that led us into public service together for the past seven years.

“Clark was so proud to serve his community, and took pride in representing Lehighton with honor and dignity. What I loved the most about Clark was that if you showed him respect, he gave it back.”

Abelovsky said that doesn’t mean they didn’t disagree at times.

“But disagreeing about something didn’t change our relationship,” she said. “He was quick to turn a dispute around into one of his stories or plans to do something bigger and better than before.”

Abelovsky said she benefited from knowing him.

“The biggest lesson I have learned from knowing Clark is “family comes first,” and I can say that I am a better person for knowing Clark and will always consider him a part of my extended family.” she said.

Lehighton Councilman Ryan Saunders worked closely with Ritter, who oversaw the borough’s police department.

“I’ve always admired that from day one; Clark really took his position as mayor very seriously, and everything he brought to the table at council, he’s always had the best interests of the police department in mind,” Saunders said. “I do believe Clark and I always got along well.

“We shared a lot of similar visions of directions for the department, and I’ve always admired his dedication to the department, whether he had any physical ailments or issues going on in the borough, any insight that he offered was always directed at the best interests of the department in the borough.”

See his obituary on page 4.