Christina (Langmuir) Riotte was with close family when she passed away peacefully on Jan. 22, 2023, following a brief battle with cancer. She was 74 years old.
Chris was born in Milwaukee, Wis., on Oct. 16, 1948. A lifelong member of the Martha’s Vineyard community, Chris and her siblings visited their grandparents every summer on East Chop. Those Vineyard summers included sailing adventures, and the occasional rescue, in her MK dinghy off the East Chop Beach Club, and time with family up-Island at the “Shack Beach” in Chilmark.
Chris graduated from the University School of Milwaukee in 1966 before attending Goucher College. Following college graduation, her strong ties to Marth’s Vineyard led her to Boston. In 1974 she married Jeffrey Riotte, whom she had met during those summers on Martha’s Vineyard. They were married at the Federated Church in Edgartown, the same church where her parents and her sister Maria had been married.
Jeff and Chris remained in Massachusetts, raising their sons Sam and Toby in Andover, and later Scituate. Summers found them back on the Vineyard, where her childhood friends had become her friends for life. Professionally, Chris found her niche as a bookkeeper for local businesses on the South Shore of Massachusetts. In her free time she was passionate about using her hands, and loved to knit, weave, and stitch. Her continuously growing stockpile of yarns was impressive. In her later years, she discovered the joy of playing mahjong, and in particular teaching others how to play. Chris was also devoted to her dogs, Dweezle and Dudley, and later Hewie and Hazel.
As empty nesters, Chris and Jeff moved from Scituate to Kingston before achieving their shared goal of moving to Martha’s Vineyard year-round in 2011. Following the loss of her husband in 2016, Chris lived briefly in Duxbury, and then moved to Westbrook, Maine, to be close to her son Sam, his wife Liz, and their daughters Penelope and Eleanor.
Chris is survived by her two sons, Sam Riotte of Cumberland, Maine, and Toby Riotte of San Francisco, Calif.; and two granddaughters, Penelope and Eleanor. She is also survived by her twin sister, Maria Herrick of East Chop; her brother, Steve Langmuir of Michigan; and her sister, Ellen Langmuir of Georgia. Her husband, Jeff Riotte, predeceased her in 2016.
The Riotte family would like to extend their appreciation for the care and loving treatment Chris received from Gentiva Hospice.
A memorial service celebrating Chris’s life will take place at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Gentiva Foundation (gentivahs.com/about/donate), or to the Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group, P.O. Box 2214, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 (mvcancersupport.org).
I always loved spending time with Chris and Jeff over many dinners at the Oceanview Restaurant. They were very fun to be around. Those were the days. RIP Christina.
Comments are closed.