Reis, Romeu Ritter dos (1915–1993)

By The Brazilian White Center – UNASP

The Brazilian White Center – UNASP is a team of teachers and students at the Brazilian Ellen G. White Research Center – UNASP at the Brazilian Adventist University, Campus Engenheiro, Coelho, SP. The team was supervised by Drs. Adolfo Semo Suárez, Renato Stencel, and Carlos Flávio Teixeira. Bruno Sales Gomes Ferreira provided technical support. The following names are of team members: Adriane Ferrari Silva, Álan Gracioto Alexandre, Allen Jair Urcia Santa Cruz, Camila Chede Amaral Lucena, Camilla Rodrigues Seixas, Daniel Fernandes Teodoro, Danillo Alfredo Rios Junior, Danilo Fauster de Souza, Débora Arana Mayer, Elvis Eli Martins Filho, Felipe Cardoso do Nascimento, Fernanda Nascimento Oliveira, Gabriel Pilon Galvani, Giovana de Castro Vaz, Guilherme Cardoso Ricardo Martins, Gustavo Costa Vieira Novaes, Ingrid Sthéfane Santos Andrade, Isabela Pimenta Gravina, Ivo Ribeiro de Carvalho, Jhoseyr Davison Voos dos Santos, João Lucas Moraes Pereira, Kalline Meira Rocha Santos, Larissa Menegazzo Nunes, Letícia Miola Figueiredo, Luan Alves Cota Mól, Lucas Almeida dos Santos, Lucas Arteaga Aquino, Lucas Dias de Melo, Matheus Brabo Peres, Mayla Magaieski Graepp, Milena Guimarães Silva, Natália Padilha Corrêa, Rafaela Lima Gouvêa, Rogel Maio Nogueira Tavares Filho, Ryan Matheus do Ouro Medeiros, Samara Souza Santos, Sergio Henrique Micael Santos, Suelen Alves de Almeida, Talita Paim Veloso de Castro, Thais Cristina Benedetti, Thaís Caroline de Almeida Lima, Vanessa Stehling Belgd, Victor Alves Pereira, Vinicios Fernandes Alencar, Vinícius Pereira Nascimento, Vitória Regina Boita da Silva, William Edward Timm, Julio Cesar Ribeiro, Ellen Deó Bortolotte, Maria Júlia dos Santos Galvani, Giovana Souto Pereira, Victor Hugo Vaz Storch, and Dinely Luana Pereira.

First Published: July 16, 2021

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Romeu Ritter dos Reis, theologian, lawyer, and journalist, was born July 8, 1915 in the city of Taquara, located in the metropolitan region of Rio Grande do Sul State. He was the only child of Jose Amador dos Reis (1891 – 1935) and Amelia Ritter dos Reis (1824 – 1991). Born in an Adventist home and following the footsteps of his father, who was the first Brazilian Adventist pastor to be ordained, Romeu studied theology at Brazil College (now Central Adventist University of Sao Paulo) and graduated in 1935.¹

Romeu devoted himself to teaching at Adventist colleges and schools. He also worked as a lawyer, working at the Porto Alegre Forum in the 1980s and he also got a degree in journalism. Romeu married Hedy Maria Krüger (1921-2014) and from this union four children were born: Nanci, Flávio, Hélvia Lúcia, and Eneida.² In the area of education, he was director of the Porto-Alegrense College of Education, Science, and Letters. Later, he was transferred to the city of Curitiba where he was the first director of Parana Adventist College.³ He also did postgraduate studies in France and Germany and became president of the Brazilian Academy of the Portuguese Language. On October 18, 1971, he founded the Ritter dos Reis Law School (UniRitter) where he worked as director. He also founded another campus of UniRitter, The Fapa (Porto Alegrense College).⁴ Romeu published some books and became editor at the Brazilian Publishing House in the city of Santo André.⁵ On January 18, 1993, Professor Romeu Ritter passed away in the city of Porto Alegre, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, when he was 78 years old, survived by his wife and children.⁶

Romeu Ritter dos Reis contributed to the Adventist Church through his strong legacy in the field of education, especially in the southern part of Brazil. Romeu had a great influence on the church by carrying the message through his teaching career and his work in other areas of the SDA Church.

Sources

“Amélia Ritter dos Reis.” Revista Adventista, April 1991.

“Associação Paranaense Comemora 60º aniversario.” Revista Adventista, October 1987.

“Dr. Romeu Ritter dos Reis.” Revista Adventista, April 1993.

Gross, Renato. Instituto Adventista Paranaense: Uma história em três tempos 1939-2009. 21ª edição, Ivatuba, PR: Instituto Adventista Paranaense, 2009.

“Hedy Maria Krüger dos Reis.” Revista Adventista, July 2014.

Schimdt, Ivan. José Amador dos Reis, Pastor e Pioneiro. 1ª edição, Santo André, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 1980.

Notes

“Dr. Romeu Ritter dos Reis,” Revista Adventista, April 1993, 27; Ivan Schmidt, José Amador dos Reis, Pastor e Pioneiro (Santo André, SP: Casa Publicadora Brasileira, 1980), 29, 199, 120; “Amélia Ritter dos Reis,” Revista Adventista, April 1991, 34.↩
“Amélia Ritter dos Reis”; “Dr. Romeu Ritter dos Reis,” Revista Adventista, April 1993, 27; Schmidt, 29.↩
Schmidt, 29; Renato Gross, Instituto Adventista Paranaense: Uma história em três tempos 1939-2009 (Ivatuba, PR: Instituto Adventista Paranaense, 2009), 174.↩
“Dr. Romeu Ritter dos Reis”; “Associação Paranaense Comemora 60º aniversario,” Revista Adventista, October 1987, 40; Gross, 174.↩
“Hedy Maria Krüger dos Reis,” Revista Adventista, July 2014, 41; Gross, 29.↩
“Dr. Romeu Ritter dos Reis.”↩