Russell Dewey Ritchie’s father was born into slavery and later converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1909, when Russell was 11, his father was denied priesthood ordination and temple admission. Russell was not ordained to the LDS lay priesthood as a teenager but he was as an adult. He became a deacon in 1970, at age 71.

Russell Dewey Ritchie's father was born into slavery and later converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1909, when Russell was 11, his father was denied priesthood ordination and temple admission. Russell was not ordained to the LDS lay priesthood as a teenager but he was as an adult. He became a deacon in 1970, at age 71.