Rita Iline (Trued) Hall was born July 10, 1925 at home in Topeka, KS. Her Mother remarried when she was 3 years old to a man who had 4 children, Virgil, Harry, Elsie, and Velma. Harry was 3 months her senior, so she grew up as a “twin”.
The family moved to Macksville, KS where she and Harry made tumbleweed houses and one time removed the screws from the windmill. She survived the dust bowl and the Great Depression. They moved to Bronaugh/Rainey, MO. It was there, at age 14 years she accepted Jesus as her Savior and was baptized in a railroad pond. She graduated from Bronaugh High School in 1943.
Her parents had 7 more children, all boys, Raymond, Edwin, Leo, Earl, Dale Lee, Bobby Dean, and Darrel. She loved her little brothers.
She moved to Kansas City and worked at Folger’s Coffee Company. One day a man, Pierce, walked in and she leaned over to her friend Mary and said, “There is the man I’m going to marry”. They married on their first date and had a happy, loving marriage until his death in 1965. They had four children, Patrica (Joshua), Karen, Gay, and Gary. She loved raising children and spoke of those years as some of her happiest.
She went back to school in 1966 and became an LPN or as she said, “low paid nurse”. She worked at KU Med Center for 20 years on several wards then in Family Practice for most of the time. She loved working, especially with her patients.
She square danced for many years and enjoyed going to national square dance conventions. She was a beautiful seamstress and made all her children’s clothing while they were growing up. She did all kinds of handwork throughout her life including learning whatever the newest craft was, crochet, macramé, knitting, making Cabbage Patch Dolls, counted cross stitch, and more. She loved to play (and win) games including Skip Bo, Sorry, Rummikub, and Labryinth. Plus, she played games and solved puzzles on her iPAD. She liked to put jigsaw puzzles together too and framed many of them. She read the newspaper daily and solved “the Jumble”. She loved to travel and camped with her family all around the USA! She loved adventure all her life and took up hot air balloon riding at 80 years old.
She was a founding member of the KCK Huggers and supported all the Special Olympians.
She believed in recycling and began early in the 1960s continuing throughout her life.
She loved living in the country and appreciated every beauty of nature. She loved all animals, wild and domestic, but especially birds; most especially hummingbirds and crows. She had 14 feeders and attracted all varieties in this area.
She loved her grandchild, Michelle, who shared her sense of humor. Her love extended to Michelle’s husband, David, and her great-grandsons, Bryce and Brody. She also loved her “great-granddaughter”, KellieLynn whom she raised.
The most important things though, were not what she did, but who she was. She was adventurous, fun, and had a great sense of humor. A true woman of integrity, honesty, compassion, empathy, and generosity, with a selfless, caring spirit. But more than anything else she loved unconditionally.
She loved the Lord with all her “heart, soul, and mind”, and her neighbor as herself. She trusted and obeyed, “fought the good fight” and “finished the race”.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be sent to the KCK Huggers/Special Olympics 5033 State Ave Kansas City, KS 66102.
Graveside services will be held at Hickory Grove Cemetery, Grove, OK.