Ilona R Ries

Ilona Julianna Reichl was born in Vienna, Austria in 1917 to Eduard and Hedwig Gabriel Reichl. In 1922 she immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen in 1930.

She graduated from Hunter College in New York City with an A.B. degree and an Early Childhood Teaching Certificate. On April 10, 1943, she married Roland Ries, a seminary student at the Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary. While living in Gettysburg, she taught in a one-room country school, called “Mud College.” After Roland's graduation, they moved to Baltimore, where they and their growing family lived for 18 years. For 13 years they lived in the Hamilton section of Baltimore while Roland was pastor of Zion Lutheran Church. In 1958 Ilona started teaching at "The School of the Chimes," a school for children with special needs. Also in 1958, the family moved to the North Homeland neighborhood while Roland was Director of Parish Education and Youth Work for the Maryland Synod. Roland accepted a call to the Silver Run Lutheran Parish in Carroll County, MD in 1963. After moving to Silver Run, Ilona taught for one year at Charles Carroll Elementary School, then began teaching children with special needs for 20 years, first at the Johnsville School, and then at the Carroll County  School for Exceptional Children.  

After they both retired, Roland and Ilona were volunteers at The Lutheran Theological College/Seminary in Tanzania, East Africa from 1985-1987. From 1988-1989, they were at the Pacific-Asian Christian University in Hawaii, where they participated in a "Crossroads Discipleship Training" program which included three months of outreach in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan.

After Roland’s death in 1993, Ilona moved to Carroll Lutheran Village in 1995, where she lived for 21 years. She remained active in church life at Grace Lutheran Church in Westminster for many years, and took advantage of all of the activities available to her at the Village, including taking courses at Western Maryland (now McDaniel) college. A life-long Scrabble word-game player, she and her friends at the village played every week, even in her 100th year. She especially enjoyed traveling to see her family and their visits to see her in Westminster. Her gentleness, kindness and love for everyone, especially children, touched many people.

Ilona is survived by her three children: Lawrence (Lynn), Daniel (Nancy), and Helen Ries, and her four grandchildren: Cynthia (Dave) Reuter, Robin (Michael) Bova, Paul Ries, and Philip Ries, and her five great grandsons: Ian and Andrew Bova, Tyler, Hugh, and Reed Reuter.

The family will receive and greet friends on Friday, December 2, 2016 at the Fletcher Funeral & Cremation Services, 254 East Main Street, Westminster, MD 21157 from 2-4 pm and from 7-9 pm.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, December 3, 2016 at Krug Chapel, Carroll Lutheran Village, 300 St. Luke Way, Westminster, MD 21158.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that contributions be made to Lutheran World Relief (lwr.org), PO Box 17061 Baltimore, MD 21297-1061, or to the Fellowship of Reconciliation (forusa.org), 521 N Broadway Nyack, NY 10960.

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