Rita Rae Dale

March 18, 1937 - February 3, 2016

Rita R. Dale, loving wife of Lawrence Dale, entered into heavenly rest February 3, 2016, at the age of 78, with her family at her bedside. Rita was born March 18, 1937, the first of four children to Frank and Beulah Wetschensky in Newton, Kansas. The family later moved to Kansas City, Kansas, where Rita attended school and upon her graduating high school, at the age of 17, she met and married her husband Lawrence. Rita had a passion for life and loved to bowl, ballroom dance and do ceramics. Her passion continued when her family moved to Barstow, CA in 1975, as Rita, her daughter Loretta Simmons, Helen Tolson, and Phyllis Dotson opened the Sad Clown Ceramic shop in Barstow at 129 E. Main Street. Rita later joined the hospital auxiliary and was a pink lady for some 19 plus years. While doing that, she was the gift shop chairman for most of the 19 years and really loved that. Although she was involved with the pink ladies, she never gave up her passion for doing ceramics. You could always find a lot of her work in the hospital gift shop. Rita cast and painted ceramics for 40 plus years. She was the one that got her mother Beulah started doing ceramics in Kansas. Beulah later started teaching and holding classes at her house. She also got her daughter Loretta doing ceramics. Rita was so very proud of and loved her family and is survived by her husband of 60 plus years Lawrence; her 3 children, sons Larry and Phillip; and daughter Loretta. Son Larry Dale and wife Valerie live in Linwood, KS; daughter Loretta Simmons lives in Ft. Worth, TX; and son Phillip Dale and wife Claudette live in Orange, CA. Rita was also blessed with 6 grandchildren, Mandy, Cody, Aimee, Aaron, Logan and Dalton. Rita has 3 sisters; Karen Greer and her husband Bruce, Dianna Justice and her husband Patrick, Betty Williams and her husband Norman; along with a number of cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Frank and Beulah Wetschensky. A memorial service is scheduled for 11:00am on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at the First Baptist Church, 1320 Barstow Rd., Barstow, CA 92311.