I just heard of Rita's passing at brunch with some Oak Hill friends. She was always a positive force at school, at St. Eds, and in our community. Her infectious humor made everyone want to be in her company. I valued her friendship and her mentorship. Anyone who knew Rita was all the better for that. My condolences to her well loved family. Thank you for sharing her with us.

Please accept our sincerest condolences ... Rita was a great friend and amazing "Auntie". Please know that even though we hadn't seen her in awhile, we often spoke of her with glowing memories. We are sorry we could not be with you at this time but hopefully we will see your family again someday soom. Love you all and God Bless your Mom.

I worked with Rita a lot at Buckley Homestead and we always had a wonderful time. She was one of the best of the famous "Buckley Babes". My condolences to the family.

I worked with Rita a lot at Buckley Homestead and we always had a wonderful time. She was one of the best of the famous "Buckley Babes". My condolences to the family.

To the Reynolds Family.. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Your Mom was a very beautiful, gracious lady, who always had time to say Hello. I know she will be greatly missed. God Bless you all.

I remember Rita as a happy and loving presence at many of the Reynolds family gatherings I was privileged to be part of as a child and teenager. I am saddened to hear of her passing.

I had the privilege to know and work with Rita at our church, St. Edwards in Lowell. What a wonderful woman. She was involved in every aspect of parish life and I greatly admired her. She was filled with grace and her love of God shined brightly on her face and in her works. My prayers are with you all.

We are grateful we could visit with Aunt Rita during our short time in California. She will always have a special place in our hearts and we love and miss her very much. With Condolences, John Patrick and Wevina Duggan

My condolences to the family I'm a friend of Marguerite. Take care.

Sending my love and prayers to the family. Such love I had for Aunt Rita. She was always very loving and good to me.The sweetest voice and the sweetest of hugs. She will be missed. ?

Sending my love and prayers to the family. Such love I had for Aunt Rita. She was always very loving and good to me.The sweetest voice and the sweetest of hugs. She will be missed. ?

Sending my love and prayers to the family. Such love I had for Aunt Rita. She was always very loving and good to me.The sweetest voice and the sweetest of hugs. She will be missed. ?

We love you Gram!

Mom, Jack, Julia

Mom, Jack Foss and Julia Hoover

Mom’s love enfolded all of us and she showed it in so many ways. Her deep and abiding faith was at the core of her great capacity to love. As she knew love, she shared love in her many roles as daughter, sister, wife and mother, grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend and, in her professional and community life. She gave without counting the cost in so many ways. Her care for my father for 13 years after a debilitating stroke was a model of true marital love and fidelity. She never asked “why me”? She never complained about life’s challenges, she met them head on. She lovingly cared for aging relatives with tender countenance and patience. For us, her children, her love was boundless. She tended carefully to our needs, and most importantly, guided us in our faith formation, made our meals, our clothes, Halloween and Christmas outfits, and celebrated our sacramental and educational milestones, achievements, and marriages with exuberance and great love. She simply showed up! She was not afraid to challenge us when we needed it, and encouraged us to do good things with our God-given talents. Encouraging her 5 children to attend university, she made it possible for us to dream large. In our extended family life, Mom brought both sides of our family and our friends together with countless celebrations. This is such an important lasting legacy of our parents’ generation. It is what brings you here to honor her today. When I gaze at my father’s precious 35 mm Kodachrome images of these events, her hand is everywhere in the frame, the clothes we wore, the food we ate, the decorations that graced our home. She was an artist and maker, seamstress and chef, and these objects grace all our homes as they witness to her loving presence in our lives. Mom loved the underdog. She was there for the farm migrant, the elderly, the poor, the disabled and dispossessed at the margins, and especially, the overlooked or mischievous child. She enjoyed her professional life at AT&T and the Thompson Clinic but her lasting legacy was assisting Jack Foss in running Oak Hill Elementary School. I treasured my impromptu visits to the office and listening to her and Jack manage school affairs with efficiency, compassion, and humor. (M*A*S*H*) One instance stands to mind that still makes me laugh. A little fellow was sitting in the miscreant chair opposite her desk and she whispered to him that she put in a good word with Jack on his behalf and that it would only be 5 or 10. His little eyes widened as he must have wondered 10 lashes or ten years instead of ten minutes on the famous white bench. She seemed to leap across her desk to assure him “my dear boy its only ten minutes on the white bench!” Mom leaned into life. Although not a teacher by trade, she loved education, and treasured her re-ennactment classroom at the Buckley Homestead. She was adventuresome and in retirement travelled from Lowell to Denali via the Alaskan Highway in a conversion van with neighbor Barb Cunningham. She visited my family in Luxembourg and dived into European culture and habit. Although a Chicago girl by birth, she grew to treasure Lowell and her life her at St. Edward as an active member of the parish, St. Vincent DePaul Conference member, and daily communicant. A trip to Costas or Wilco to pick up a few items was always a half an hour as the former alums of Oak Hill would greet her to update her on their lives and families. Her mental rolodex was astonishing as she would recall their names and key events in their life at school. While at home in Lowell, She never forgot her roots in Brighton Park, her grade school days at St. Agnes, her high school years at Kelly High School and post-secondary study in business administration and accounting. She kept up with family and friends in the old neighborhood, often at their service. Mom deeply loved her extended family by marriage, her in-laws, nieces, and nephews and one never sensed any distinction as to whose side of the family was who. Whether Reynolds, Duggan, Suchor, or Rothgery - We are and will remain one family! (Paul Duggan). Her later twilight years brought the challenges posed by advancing dementia. Despite these challenges, she remained fiercely independent and bore her condition with humility, grace, and at times uncanny humor. She always remembered her prayers and was always up for a rousing version of Doris Day’s A Bushel and a Peck. Whether in Cincinnati, Columbus, or under the watchful and caring eyes of Johanna in Sunnyvale, Katie in Seattle, and most recently in Maryland with Rita, she inspired us with her wisdom, tenacity and sheer grit while always remaining a strong, yet gentle, matriarch. In my last visit with her just over a week ago, her eyes still shone their steely blue brightness as she wordlessly patted my hand to acknowledge that despite the fog of dementia, she could still communicate a mother’s love for her child, hand to hand, heart to heart. This is her legacy, her gift to us. Let us long remember her, now and forever.

Rita was a wonderful mother to her family and a friend to those in need. She would do many little things that made a big difference in people's lives without recognition or fanfare. Heaven is now blest with her presence and we have the memories of a wonderful role model who showed us how to love one another. Grandma Reynolds, you will be missed.

Rita was such a welcome "teacher" at Buckley, interpreting the schoolhouse for the school tours and public visitors. I loved her positive attitude, willingness to jump in and get the job done, and her laugh! (I also loved her when she was secretary at school where my daughter attended - I could always depend on her when I had a problem or needed something.) I hope you share your memories and speak her name often. Lean on family and friends for comfort. And look to God for peace. Sending much love and hugs. Becky Crabb, former park manager of Buckley Homestead

Aunt Rita's death marks the end of an era for Reynolds, Duggan and Donovan cousins. Always our "young aunt", I will especially miss her smile and the music in her voice.

Rest is peace Grandma. The world is not a darker place since you died but a brighter place because you lived, loved and touched so many lives. You will always be with me and so many others. Love Mike your A+ Driver and ice cream compatriot.

Dear Mom, Thank you for my life, a life filled with wonder, love, and grace at your tender hands and under your watchful, most loving, gaze. I shall always keep you close to my heart in thought, word, and deed. I love you! John

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.