Jack Ritchie (given name John George Reitci) was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in
1922. He spent time as a student at Milwaukee State Teachers College and then
enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served in the Pacific for
two years. It was during this time that Ritchie took in interest in mystery and
crime fiction. He began writing stories under the name Jack Ritchie and had his
first story "Always the Season" published in 1953. He married fellow Wisconsin
author Rita Krohne (1930-2010) in 1954. She wrote children's adventure novels. The
couple had four children together. Ritchie won many awards and had several of his
stories produced for television or film. He was a member of the Mystery Writers of
America and Council for Wisconsin Writers. Ritchie died in 1983.
