Visitation and memorial for Thomas Clifton Ritter will be at 3:00 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2018 at Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Monroe, Louisiana. Thomas was born on the 4^th of July, 1943 to Eugenia Flinn Ritter and L. D. Ritter. After being diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at the age of five, his parents were told that if they took good care of him, the odds were good that he might live to be a teenager. He beat those odds, passing away on October 4^th, 2018 at the age of 75 years.Thomas graduated from ULM with a masters plus 30 in music. A gifted saxophonist, he was selected to be part of a Jazz band that toured Europe twice during his school years. Travel and music were linked in his psyche and became two of the loves of his life. Among his many achievements, Thomas played for the Miss America pageant, with singers Tom Jones, Sonny and Cher, Frank Sinatra, the Phares Corder Band and the Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was one of the founding members of the Twin City Concert Band and played with them for many years. Music was and remained an important part of his life. He was never happier than spending an afternoon simply listening to Gustav Mahler.A world traveler, he liked to seek out the path less trodden and spent weeks at a time exploring China, Egypt, Russia, Europe and South America. Later in life, he became interested in photography and was a highly sought after contributor to the Sierra Club, the Audubon Foundation, and magazines and calenders all over the world. Much of his work is part of the permanent collections of renowned museums such as the New Orleans Museum of Art, the High Museum of Atlanta and the Masur Museum in Monroe.Always a gentleman, Thomas enriched the lives of all those around him with his unfailing support of other photographers, his family and his friends. He made the world a kinder, gentler place and he will be missed forever.He is survived by his wife of twenty five years, Kirby, whom he called the love of his life and his best friend; two daughters, Melanie Ritter of Largo, Florida and Deborah Dombrowski of Largo, Florida; three stepdaughters, Chris Webster of Monroe, Louisiana, Valerie Nordstrom of West Monroe, Louisiana, and Sidney Winters of New Orleans, Louisiana; Scott Webster, whom Tom considered to be his son; four grandchildren, Christopher Dombrowski, Erin Dombrowski and her fiance, Meyer Saari, Cully Allain and Daphne Nordstrom. Daphne was a special highlight in his later life and he spent hours helping her make paintings and reading to her.Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Foundation.Online condolences may be made to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com.Kilpatrick Funeral HomeMonroe, LA