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Sister Mary Rita, the former Rita Dorothy Moody, was born in Newport, NY, on September 17, 1920, daughter of the late Seymour and Catherine Ward Moody. After graduating from St. Mary’s Academy, Little Falls, Sister Mary Rita entered the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Joseph on March 19, 1939 and professed final vows on August 15, 1944. She received a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education, both from The College of Saint Rose. For 34 years, Sister Mary Rita taught in elementary schools in the Albany and Syracuse Dioceses. In the subsequent years, she served at St. Joseph’s Provincial House as a general housekeeper, a driver and coordinator of transportation and an artisan in the ceramics department.

 

Sister Mary Rita was a gifted educator of young children and spent the majority of her years teaching kindergarten and first grade. A woman who lived simply and humbly, she had a relish for a humorous story or a good joke and a zest for hard work. Sister Mary Rita was quick to appreciate and affirm the gifts of others, and her lifelong focus on others enabled her to meet the frailty of her later years with a gentle, calm spirit. Her tenderness of heart and earnest disposition were Sister Mary Rita’s trademarks, and we are the grateful beneficiaries of that legacy.

 

Sister Mary Rita is survived by several nieces and nephews and their families, many friends and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by five brothers: Dean, Robert, Seymour, Ward and Bernard Moody; a sister, Mildred Lynch; and many beloved friends in the Sisters of St. Joseph.

 

Sister Mary Rita’s funeral Liturgy was held on Wednesday, June 17, from the chapel of St. Joseph’s Provincial House, Latham. Interment was in Our Lady Queen of Virgins Cemetery on the Provincial House grounds. Contributions in Sister Mary Rita’s memory may be made to the Development Office of the Sisters of St. Joseph, 385 Watervliet-Shaker Road, Latham, NY 12110.