Mary Ritchey

AUBURN, MA - Mary Lynn Ritchey, 89, a resident of Auburn and longtime professor of music at Anna Maria College, passed away on November 23, 2025. 

Mary Lynn was born in Conrad, Montana, on February 21, 1936, to Joseph and Eileen (Pettgrew) Ritchey.  

Mary Lynn attended Dominican University of California, and from 1955 to 1983 she served Christ at Our Lady of the Valley Convent in Kettle Falls, WA, with the Third Order of St. Dominic Sisters. During her time there, she taught children of various ages from the Blackfeet Native American Tribe. Mary Lynn moved east in 1989 when she was offered a professorship at Anna Maria College, where she taught various music courses and voice, and also served as Director of Choral Ensembles. She retired as Professor Emerita in 2017. 

She loved and participated in the area's vibrant classical music culture for many years. Beyond her musical life, she cherished her friends and students; the outdoors in all seasons; her many rescued cats; and the life of the mind. 

She is survived by her two half-brothers, Tom and Mike Stevens of California; and by her cousins, Mary Catherine Porter of Utah, David Cannell and John J. Cannell of California, and Susan Cannell Skoonberg of Georgia. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, December 2, at Blessed Sacrament Church, 551 Pleasant Street, Worcester. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mary Lynn's memory to Mass Audubon at www.massaudubon.org. 

Arrangements entrusted to the care of Miles Funeral Home in Holden. www.milesfuneralhome.com