Sara Zucker Rittenberg

The relatives and friends of Henry and Sara Rittenberg are invited to attend the funeral services of the latter at BSBI Maryville Cemetery on Sycamore Avenue in West Ashley, Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.

Sara Zucker Mescon Rittenberg, 94, died December 17, 2013 at Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community. She was born in Poland August 21, 1919, to Rachel Miller and Joseph Zucker. Her family moved from Poland to Charleston when she was one year old. She attended Bennett School and was an honor graduate of Memminger High School. Majoring in Latin, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Charleston in 1939.

At the end of World War II, she married Louis Mescon. Together they worked diligently as partners in Mescon's, a floor covering store on uptown King Street. They had two daughters-Harriett and Libby. Lou died suddenly in 1955 just a few months after they moved into the house they had built on Lee (now Notlee) Place in South Windermere. First in partnership with Lou and then alone after his death, she managed a business when few women worked outside the home. She instilled in her children the importance of being self-supporting, as one never knows what life will bring.

In 1957, after a very brief courtship, she married her childhood friend Henry W. Rittenberg who had just moved back to Charleston after completing his medical internship. She gave birth to their son Charles the following year. At that time, she decreased her time in the store and her siblings joined her as partners in Mescon's which remained in her family until 2003.

Sara and Henry shared a rich life together. Their 55 years of marriage ended with his death in 2012. Sara was an avid bridge player both in numerous neighborhood games and in local duplicate bridge competition in which she teamed with her brother Bubba Zucker. Bubba was a nationally recognized grand master and the two of them made a formidable team. She was an active member of the Jewish community and belonged to numerous local and national organizations including Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, Brith Shalom Beth Israel Sisterhood, and the congregations of BSBI and Synagogue Emanu-El. She was a quiet and generous contributor to the Jewish and Charleston communities. She believed in the importance of equal opportunity and was a lifelong Democrat.

She and Henry moved to the independent living area of Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community in 2007 when caring for a home became too burdensome. She remained in her own apartment until just a few weeks before her death. The family wishes to extend a special thank you to Margaret Lee and the numerous staff and friends who helped her make a home at Bishop Gadsden.

Sara is survived by her children, Dr. Harriett Rittenberg Steinert of Charleston, Dr. Libby Rittenberg and her husband Dr. Nasit Ari of Colorado Springs, and Dr. Charles Rittenberg and his fiancée Bené Jacobs of Charleston; her grandchildren Leslie Elizabeth Sawyer and her fiancé Harlie H. Stevens, III of Charleston, Joanna Ilana Steinert of Pawley's Island, Dr. Mim Ari and her husband J. Benjamin St. Clair of Denver, Nisa Ari of Boston, Dr. Rachel Barbara Rittenberg of Los Angeles, and Rebecca Alice Rittenberg and her husband Shmuel Dabush of Minneapolis; and her great-grandchildren Jacob Andrew Wingate and Benjamin Ryan Wingate of Pawley's Island. Sara was predeceased by four siblings, her daughter-in-law Dr. Bethe Rittenberg, and her son-in-law Dr. N. Steven Steinert.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Bethe Rittenberg Fund of the Coastal Community Foundation, 635 Rutledge Avenue, Suite 201, Charleston, SC 29403 (www.coastalcommunityfoundation.org) or the charity of one's choice.

Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR, INC., DOWNTOWN CHAPEL.