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I'm sorry to say my sweet, beautiful sister Rita Rae Rogers (Class of 1959) passed away in Camdenton, Missouri, early Friday afternoon on June 9, 2017. Rita had been suffering for several years with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). She had quit smoking many years ago, but the damage had been done. She passed away after being in the hospital for a week and then she was moved to hospice care. Her son Mark, who also lives in Camdenton, was with her. I have so many fond memories of Rita who always watched over me just like a big sister does. She was a true friend, a fellow cheerleader, a confidant, friendly, vibrant, bubbly, athletic and so much more. She loved astrology and numerology. She was also very psychic and really amazed me so many times. She will be greatly missed. She is survived by our mother, Idabell Rogers (age 97), Huntington Beach, CA, her sister Sharon Rogers, Huntington Beach, CA, her three children Trudi, Jodi and Mark, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Sharon Rogers (1961)
Rita Rae Rogers, 76, passed away on June 9 in Osage Beach due to complications with COPD.
She was born March 6, 1941 in Sterling, CO.
She is survived by her mother Idabell Rogers and sister Sharon Rogers, both of Huntington Beach, CA; daughter Trudi Blake of Overton, NV; daughter Jodi Koudelka of Long Beach, CA; son Mark Johnston of Camdenton; eleven grandchildren; and eighteen great grandchildren.
Rita Rae’s life was defined by her love of God, family, art, and education. A member of the Camdenton Bible Baptist Church, she found her purpose and direction in Jesus Christ. As a friend, daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, she was a light who found her greatest joy in imparting love and appreciation for knowledge, art, and nature. She was a tireless advocate for education, working as a literacy tutor for many years, teaching many adults who had never learned to read how to do so.
There is no memorial planned as her family is very widely dispersed. In lieu of this, you can bring a smile to her face by reading to a child in your life, giving an hour or two as a volunteer, or doing something for your church.
Condolences can be shared with the family at hedgesscottfuneralhomes.com.
Arrangements have been placed under the care of Hedges-Scott Funeral Home, Camdenton
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Dick Trelease (1959)
It is very hard for me to write about Rita Rae. Bill and I grew up together with her and her sisters, largely becasue our fathers both were LA Dept of Water and Power employees, thus we lived and played togther as preschool/ grade schoolers in the same neighborhood. All thru the all school years, Rita was a real jewel in terms of being a very good person with everyone!!! I was fortunate to keep in some contact with her after our HS/College years, mainly becasue she had in incredibly inquisitive mind that I was not really aware of before. I learned that she really loved Biology too. She often contacted me and asked really intuitve and interesting questions, often related to biological things in the BC desert. Yes, this is true!! Thank goodness, the internet replaced our old multiple volumes of shelved Enclopedias, so I could help her answer her deep-thought inquiries! So, for me, she too was a very dear and close friend; her passing was really very sad!! Dick Trelease
Art Tyree (1959)
Rita Ray was the kind of person who spread joy wherever she went--I remember feeling better when she was in the same room. Rita Ray always had something good to say about others, never negative or sarcastic. Recently, I had the good fortune to correspond a bit with her via email; she shared her involvement with church and her love for the Lord in a genuine and free way. I will miss Rita Ray Rogers.
Robert Scott (1959)
Well, what can i say? Rita Rae, Bonnie Gay, Sharon Dee-- these were the Rogers girls and they were the finest in town. They lived right around the corner from my house above the Visitor's Bureau and there would always be some hopeful guy coming around after dark to whisper in one of those bedroom windows. Boulder City will never again have three sisters as lovely as these.
Robert Scott
Julie (Judy Gail) Hunsaker (Grandi) (1959)
Wow - have we come to that chapter in life when our classmates start going. Rita Rae, like everyone else says, was one of a kind. I remember in high school really admiring her. Hopefully her passing wasn't too painful or pro-longed. But lung disease is tough. I feel sooo grateful that I never got started on the smoking thing. But all smokers I know really enjoy it - and I guess feel it's worth the health risk. RIP, Miss Rita Rae...
Bill Herald (1959)
I always thought highly of Rita Rae, who lived just down the street from me during my high school years. She was friendly with a bubbling personality, and she was a well-remembered classmate.
In 1999, after virtually all my classmates thought I was dead -- being listed as deceased in the 10th, 20th and 30th reunion booklets, only to appear in person for the 40th -- and I arrived in Las Vegas for that reunion, Rita Rae was the first classmate I saw in person in nearly four decades.
Lail Leonard had provided me a list of still-living classmates (and their contact information), and Rita Rae was the first one on the list, so I called her on the phone, and she was nice enough to come over to where I was staying (Imperial Palace), and we had a nice conversation.
I have nothing but good things to say about Rita Rae, and may she rest in peace!
Myron Jones (1963)
I had been communicating with Rita Rae over the past few years as she and my brother Steve had a farily serious dating relationship back in the late '50s and early '60s. I was about five years younger but not so dumb to know she was an extremely beautiful woman and I thought my brother should have married her. For those of you who knew my family we moved to BC in April of 1959 to take over the Boulder City Theatre. My mom and dad were helped by their younger offspring: Steve (who mostly still lived in LA), Linda, myself, Donna and Julia. Steve, Linda and Donna are gone now. Linda, just a few months ago from lung cancer (same issue as Sharon mentioned about Rita Rae, the after affects of smoking). Steve passed away last summer from melanoma. He was one healthy dude through his life but ignored the telltale signs of skin cancer. I wrote to Rita Ray about his death and she was very sorrowful. Then 20 days later she passed. So sorry to see this bright light gone from mother earth. As was mentioned, the Rogers sisters were all stunning, bright women.