| Graduation Year | Class of 1958 |
| Date of Passing | Jul 15, 2020 |
| About | On Wednesday, July 15, 2020 Rita Armstrong (Wise), formerly of Zanesville, "went on to her next adventure, whatever that may be", at age 80. She passed away at home in Kansas, surrounded by her family, after dealing with cancer for over 2 years. Rita, who also went by "Meme", was known for her boundless kindness and generosity - even to those she barely knew. Dubbed the "Christmas Elf" she would buy a gift, even if only a token, for all of her friends and family (and pets) - with her very limited resources - because she wanted everyone to feel about Christmas the way that she did. She was "silly" and loved to sing and her philosophy of life was "laugh to keep from crying and sing to keep from going stark raving mad". Rita was "the best mom ever" to her children Chris (Mary) and Angel (Brian), a devoted sister to her brother Roger and her sister Shirley (deceased), and a loving Meme to her grandchildren Rebe, Yvonne, Jacquelyn and Sean. She loved her nieces and nephews Debbie (Dave), Jayne, Keith (Heather) and Michele as her own children, and loved their "babies", and their babies, as well. She enjoyed visiting with her cousins, Marsha and Marilyn, and many other family and friends. She was predeceased by her mother, Florence Sarchett (Parrish) and her father, Alva Wise and her husband of 41 years, Richard Armstrong. She asked that her body be donated to a local medical school in hopes that they might "find something to help somebody else" and in lieu of flowers, asks for donations to child abuse prevention organizations. Her family will hold an online memorial at a later date. She wanted it known that she loves all her family and friends and said to tell them to say, "Que Sera, Sera", in her memory. |
