Rita Johnson Rife, 61, of Wellston, Ohio, went home with her Lord on Saturday evening, March 30, 2019, at the OSU Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. She was born in Wellston, Ohio, Feb. 11, 1958, to the late Raymond Johnson and her mother, Lillian Burke Johnson, who resides in Texas.
Rita attended Wellston High School and married her husband of 43 years, Ray Rife, on Aug. 26, 1975. Rita loved painting and decorating her home, tending her beautiful flower gardens, feeding all the birds, fishing, watching the sunsets, and doing anything she could to help her family.
Besides her father, she was preceded in death by a brother, Mike Johnson, and a sister, Connie Johnson.
Besides her mother and husband, she also leaves behind her son, “Little Ray “ Rife, of Athens, Ohio; her daughter, Alfreda Lynn (Joe) Kisor, of McArthur; five grandchildren; four sisters: Diane Lewis of Wellston; Linda ( Bill) Burton of McArthur; Venus (Chuck) Webb of Oak Hill and Darlene Johnson of Texas; a close sister-in-law, Karen (Roger) Goheen of Wellston; five close brothers-in-law: Jimmy (Karen) Rife of Oak Hill; Charles (Marolyn) Rife, Dallas (Donna) Rife, Ed (Anna) Rife, and Joe (Jane) Rife all of Wellston; and several nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends at the Jenkins Funeral Chapel in Wellston on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until the funeral hour at 2 p.m. Pastor Randall Hall will officiate the services with burial to follow in the Hamden Cemetery. The family politely requests that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions be made to the Jenkins Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 451, Wellston, Ohio 45692, to assist with funeral expenses.
Online condolences may be made at www.samjenkinsfuneralchapel.com