Giving Profiles

Pete Ritteman ’60

Occupation: Attorney (retired)

His Gift:
Elizabeth Barks and Mary Margaret Boehm Endowment, a partially endowed fund that supports the library and the boarding program.

What role did reading play in your life?
I have read for pleasure since I was very young, and I would say that reading saved my life. When I was six I got my first library card. It turned out that I was totally dyslexic. Since I already knew the books, I taught myself to read even though the symbols looked different than they did to other people. For years I was a prosecutor working with dope dealers, and I noticed that none read for pleasure. Kids who read are just not as prone to do drugs. Their minds are already extended beyond what any drug could do. Reading is the key to success.

What is funded by the endowment?
I set up an endowment which allowed (librarian) Milly Rawlings to buy fun books such as mysteries, Westerns, and science fiction. It also funded reading prizes, and it paid for the creation of a comfortable reading nook. I also thought that teachers’ kids or younger siblings of current students should have a place in the library and funded a children’s corner for them. We need to get little kids hooked on the library as a place for fun. Another portion of the gift reimburses teachers for incidental expenses, such as birthday cakes, which add to the quality of boarding life.

Why did you choose to honor these two women?
I have fond memories of Mary Margaret Boehm, whose family has a long history with Baylor, and of Mrs. Elizabeth “Bets” Barks, who was very kind when kids were in trouble. There are pictures of Herb Barks everywhere but none of her or other local mothers who adopted boarding students. I felt that these women should be publicly recognized.

In what other ways do you give to Baylor?
I’ve given some odd gifts, mostly of things that I would have liked when I went to Baylor. I’ve bought toolkits for female dorm parents so they would be less dependent on maintenance and with the hope that some of the female students would learn to fix things. I gave a bench in honor of Alvin O. Moore, Jr. ’60 who absolutely loved Baylor. I just sent 13 boxes of personal books, which will be fun reading and can also supplement the history program. Baylor is not a school, it’s a family, and I want to give. If I hit the lottery, I would fund a new library!

View Next Profile