Our Friends - Peggy and Jerry Ritter

eggy and Jerry Ritter came from smaller towns in Missouri to become two of the biggest friends of St. Louis. For decades they have supported many good causes of their adopted community, and none has benefited more from their generosity than SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

Peggy Ritter grew up in Hannibal, where her father was a surgeon. He was a St. Louis University graduate and friend of Dr. Peter Danis, a pediatrician and faculty member whose dream led to the founding of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. She was trained in medical technology and worked as chief technician in the radioisotope lab at Desloge Hospital.

Her career was put on hold when she had two daughters, Laurie and Beth. Their pediatrician, of course, was Dr. Danis. When she found time for community work, she began a relationship with Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

“I go way, way back,” she said. “I graduated from St. Louis U. and did an internship through Cardinal Glennon. After I had the kids and quit working, it was the first charitable thing I did.”

She has been a member of the Glennon Guild “forever,” and has chaired a number of the hospital’s major fund-raising events. She has been involved with several Glennon Guild Show House tours and chaired the hospital’s 40th anniversary party. For the past 15 years she has been co-chairperson of the annual Bob Costas Benefit. “There is a little core group of us who started that event 15 years ago and are still together,” she said. “It is great fun.”

Peggy serves on the boards of many of St. Louis’ most important not-for-profit civic assets. But, she says, “Cardinal Glennon is always there in my heart. If we want to get somebody involved with the hospital, we just take them down there and let them walk through the halls and see the kids and the staff. It is such a phenomenal place. I have never met one person there who isn’t caring and wonderful with the kids.”

Jerry Ritter grew up in Brookfield in central Missouri and came to St. Louis after graduating from the University of Missouri. He spent 28 years with Anheuser-Busch, retiring as executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer. He then spent three years as chairman of the St. Louis Blues hockey team, retiring from that post when the team was sold to new owners in 1999.

Jerry has shared his financial and administrative skills with the hospital since he joined the Glennon Board of Governors more than 20 years ago. He now is its most tenured member.

“Anheuser-Busch has had quite an association with the hospital,” he said. “We have felt very good about being able to participate with that kind of an institution.

The brewery and hospital are both South St. Louis institutions, and a lot of our employees have had children and grand-children cared for there.”

The St. Louis Blues also have become one of the most visible and energetic supporters of Cardinal Glennon.

Jerry has held most executive positions associated with the Board of Governors and completed a two-year term as its president last year.

“That was a meaningful experience for me. There is a warm feeling everybody has for children. I feel a lot of satisfaction in helping sick children at Cardinal Glennon.”

The Ritter’s daughters never required hospital care when they were growing up, “but three of our five grandchildren have been there for different situations,” Jerry said. “When our grandchildren were there, the care was just phenomenal. They’re all fine now.”

“As long as they want our help at Glennon, I can’t imagine that we won’t be involved,” Peggy said. “St. Louis is a great community. We have been very fortunate living here. We feel that we owe something back. We enjoy what we do and we meet

“Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital is an icon in this community,” Jerry said. “It has such a tremendous reputation of carrying out its mission of never turning away a sick child. It is ranked very highly in the United States, and has a national reputation for the cord blood bank and Costas Cancer Center and Dierdorf Emergency and Trauma Center.

“St. Louis is a very generous town that supports its institutions. That’s what makes them all so good. We get sizable gifts out of the blue at Cardinal Glennon from people we have never heard of. It is amazing how Cardinal Glennon is respected and admired and loved by many, many people in this community and beyond.”

If you would like more information on ways that you may be a friend of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, please call the Office of Development at 314.577.5605 or 800.269.0552. You also may e-mail us at info@glennon.org. All inquiries will remain confidential.