Dr. Cristina Miller Riter
March 9, 1952 – December 31, 2023
Dr. Cristina Miller Riter of New Cumberland, WV, passed away on Sunday, December 31, 2023, following a lengthy battle with rheumatoid arthritis and onset complications. She was 71.
Cris was born in Oakdale, PA, on March 9, 1952, to the late Juanita Robinson Miller and Melvin Leroy Miller, Sr. Her family moved to New Cumberland, WV, where she graduated from Oak Glen High School in 1970. After high school, she completed beautician school and worked alongside her mother in her mother’s beauty shop which was located in their home. She was a member of Point Pleasant United Methodist Church where she was a Sunday school teacher, bible school teacher and organized the Christmas programs.
Cris lived her life devoted to her loving husband, their family, friends and her students. Cris will be remembered for her vibrant smile, her sense of humor, contagious laugh, her delicious cooking and baking, and her kindness and generosity towards others.
Cris’s passion of caring for others led her to pursue her nursing education at West Virginia Northern Community College (AA/RN), West Liberty State College (BSN), Marshall University (MSN), and West Virginia University (EdD). She had a successful career at West Virginia Northern Community College as a Professor of Nursing for fifteen years and then at Kent State University, East Liverpool, as the Director of Nursing until her retirement.
In addition to her parents, Cris was preceded in death by her first husband, Gary Schaefer; three brothers, Melvin (Arch) Miller Jr., William Dell Miller, and Terrence Ray Miller; and one sister, Patricia Ann Ciccolella.
She was loved and admired by all who knew her but especially by her surviving family: her husband of 47 years, William Riter; her daughter, Sarah Ellen Riter (Mark Samson); and her two sons, William (Kylie) and Gary Riter; a sister, Darlena (Amos) Hissem of New Cumberland, WV; and a brother, Larry (Barbara) Miller of Charlotte, NC.
Visitation will be Friday, January 5, 2024, from 2-4pm & 6-8pm at Turley Funeral Home, 109 N. Chester Street, New Cumberland, WV. Private services will be held at the convenience of the family.