GRAFTON/NORTHBOROUGH: Rita Ann Powell, 83, shed her mortal coil to be reunited once again with her many siblings in the breezeway of heaven, at the pinochle table of the lord.
She went peacefully surrounded by her loving children.
Rita was born to Albert and Isabella (Felix) McGee, the youngest of seven children in a small house on the windswept shores of Hays’ Pond in North Grafton. This was at the height of the Great Depression, prior to the invention of the hospital. Back when people didn’t get all rattled about institutionalized child birth. “This is the Great Depression!” they said. “Man up!”
She was widely recognized for her cooking, baking, and especially, her cake decorating skills. Her prowess in the kitchen led to a long and satisfying career in the food services industry, beginning as a waitress in a small-town diner to retiring as the general manager for corporate food services at both the Downy Saving Bank and Allergan Pharmaceuticals headquarters in southern California. Rita’s prowess with a wooden spoon also served her well beyond the kitchen to the back-sides of any one of her three children should they choose to challenge her authority. (A gentle tap always, but you weren’t going to challenge her twice)
She was predeceased by her brothers Vincent and Leslie Mcgee, her sisters, Ellen Belsito, Marie Miller and Ruth Belsito (Yes, the two sisters married two brothers. This was the Great Depression…they did that). She leaves her brother Robert Mcgee of Shrewsbury.
She leaves behind her two daughters, Deborah Powell and her partner Rick Hamlin of Dennis MA, Denise McShera and her husband Rick of Southborough MA (Yes, they’re both Ricks...it can get confusing), and her son (and favorite child) Mark and his wife Wendy of Princeton, MA.
She also leaves behind eleven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. All of whom she adored, and most of whom she could remember.
Rita resided at The Coleman House an assisted living and skilled nursing home in Northboro Mass for the last several years of her life. Many thanks to the nurses, cna's, the food service staff, the laundry staff, the custodial staff, social services staff, entertainment staff, management and Hospice service. It not only takes a village to raise children, but also to care for the elderly and The Coleman House village is amazing.
In lieu of flowers we ask you to make a donation to The Alzheimer's Association 480 Pleasant St. Watertown, MA 02472 or online at www.alzmass.org.
All are welcome to gather with Rita’s family and friends Sunday October 23rd from 3pm to 4pm at Roney Funeral Home in North Grafton followed by a prayer service at 4pm in the funeral home. Burial will be private at her family’s convenience. Please share a memory of Rita or message of sympathy with her family in an online guestbook available at:
www.RoneyFuneralHome.com