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Sterling hospice nurse, her 32 years of military service honored with 'Quilt of Valor'
Jun. 18—STERLING — For retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Julia Ritz of Walnut, service has never been a straight line — it is a calling set upon a twofold path.
Recently honored by the Quilt of Valor Foundation with a handcrafted quilt commemorating her 32 years of service in the U.S. military, Ritz reflects on a career shaped by dedication, sacrifice and a lifelong devotion to helping others.
Now a hospice nurse with Rock River Hospice & Home in Sterling, Ritz's journey into military service began in 1989, when she took her oath in the U.S. Navy during the Gulf War. Although originally pursuing a commission as a naval flight officer, her career ultimately evolved through service in the Navy Reserves, Minnesota Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force.
"I listed first, and then I crossed over to the other side," Ritz said. "I just retired on April 12 this year after 32 years."
Ritz's career included active duty at Hurlburt Field with Air Force Special Operations Command following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, as well as deployments to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where she served as director of operations for an Expeditionary Medical Evacuation Squadron, and later to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
"I was not a combatant — just medical," Ritz said. "But that was pretty extraordinary, being in Kandahar."
Ritz retired as a lieutenant colonel but remains humble about her career.
"I wish I had made it to full bird," Ritz said. "But it was never about me — it was about the people."
Ritz said she was inspired to serve by a sword that her grandfather had with an anchor on it. Her father also served as an Army reservist.
That same sense of purpose led Ritz to health care.
"It was kind of selfish on my part," she said. "When I started, females didn't get to serve everywhere that they do today, and health care or nursing was where you had a kind of target."
Ritz became a commissioned officer through health care, serving in the Medical Service Corps while also maintaining credentials as a nurse — and, outside the military, a pilot. Her path into hospice work began during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I had met a hospice nurse from Rock River [Hospice & Home] at Parkway Center in Sterling," Ritz said. "When the pandemic kicked off, they lost all their nurses. ... That's how I got involved."
Ritz credits her colleagues at Rock River Hospice, where she continues to care for patients and their families in their final stages of life.
"It takes a special person to work with hospice. It's not easy," Ritz said. "Kudos to Jacqueline, my [director of nursing] /administrator, and all the rest of the nurses there at Rock River. They're wonderful people."
The transition from military medicine to hospice care came naturally, although not without challenges.
"The military has helped me, but it's never easy when you lose somebody — that doesn't end," Ritz said. "We treat them like family, and that's how we handle things. That's the same with the military ... you take care of each other, and it's a family thing."
The Quilt of Valor, presented by the national nonprofit Quilt of Valor Foundation, is a handmade tribute awarded to service members and veterans who have been touched by war. The organization's mission is to honor and comfort those who have served, doing so with the tangible gift of a quilt — each one stitched with gratitude and recognition for sacrifice.
For Ritz, receiving the quilt held deep personal meaning. War, she said, had shaped much of her military life.
"Unfortunately, it's been throughout my whole time in the service, off and on," Ritz said. "You figure the Persian Gulf, I was on NAS Pensacola on a beach and going through training, and that was my first taste of what could happen. And then, of course, 9/11 was devastating. ... We all went to the base ready to go."
Ritz also acknowledged the personal sacrifices made along the way.
"I have to thank my children, Elisabeth and Thomas Sullivan," Ritz said. "They endured years of sacrifice as a family, and I couldn't have done this life without them."
As Ritz continues her work in hospice care, she still holds a dream of returning to the skies.
"My goal before I age out is to go back to either corporate or cargo flying," Ritz said. "But that's another story."
For now, the quilt that Ritz received is more than just fabric — it is a symbol of a life of service, woven with honor, compassion and resilience.
