Rita Sabel

Rita loved Selma and had wonderful memories growing up among her many aunts, uncles and cousins. She attended the University of Chicago but returned home after two years to care for her ill mother. At age 21, Rita married Mark Sabel and after the war the couple moved to Montgomery. Their marriage of 48 years was one of love and great mutual respect.

Rita was a woman of dignity, intellect and sterling character. She was incapable of lying and refused to gossip. Her moral compass never wavered. She looked for and saw the humanity in everyone she encountered regardless of race, class or station in life. She understood she had been fortunate in life and believed it was incumbent upon her and those of similar circumstance to help others less fortunate.

Rita was a good friend to many, admired and respected for her thoughtfulness, her compassion and her genuineness. And in each of her friends she found qualities she admired. She was also a good friend to her community, serving on numerous boards of social service organizations and was an active volunteer as well. The United Way, the Mental Health Authority, the Red Cross, the National Council of Jewish Women, Partners in Education, the Council Against Rape, the Lighthouse, the Family Sunshine Center, and the Zoo were some of the many boards on which she served. Rita helped establish the Lighthouse, a free counseling center for young people, and served on its board for many years. For over 13 years she served as a crisis phone counselor, a program of the Mental Health Authority. Rita was particularly proud of her role in establishing programs for abused women. She was chair of the Council Against Rape and helped train volunteers assisting victims of rape. As a member of the Domestic Abuse Shelter Board, she investigated police records, documented the need, and rallied public support to establish the first shelter for abused women and their children in this area. She also purchased and donated the building used as the shelter residence. It is now a program of the Family Sunshine Center on whose board she served for many years.

Rita received many awards for her service and was somewhat embarrassed by this recognition, but her accolades were well deserved. In 1981 she received the Hannah Solomon award, the highest honor awarded by the National Council of Jewish Women to an individual who has changed the lives of others through their leadership and service. She received the Community Council Award in 1992 and was named a Senior of Achievement in 1999 by the Montgomery Council on Aging.

Rita was also politically engaged and a life-long Democrat, much to the chagrin of her husband Mark. But he respected her viewpoint and activism and even helped her secure the local headquarters for the McGovern presidential campaign when realtors had refused to rent her downtown office space. Rita and Mark’s political differences and dinner-time debates were a source of considerable entertainment and enlightenment for their children who were invited to jump into the fray whenever an opening appeared.

Rita put great stock in the importance of education. Although she had to curtail her college education, she was a life-long learner. She was an avid reader and never stopped striving to know and understand more of this world and how it might be improved. She loved her book club and would say how much she enjoyed and learned from the insight and discernment of her fellow members. They felt the same about her.

Rita is survived by three of her children, Bobby (Lynne), Jimmy (Jane), and Ellen (Bill), seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Her husband Mark and eldest son Wayne Sabel (Cheryl) pre-deceased her. Rita’s only sibling, Max, Jr. died at age 99.

The family wishes to acknowledge the wonderful caregivers who made Rita’s final years one of comfort and friendship. We particularly want to thank Alma Hardy who became so close to Rita that she claimed to be her second daughter. She could cheer up Rita when no one else could. We also want to give particular thanks to Lana Lester and Bernice Perryman, who took such loving care of our mother, and to all the other caregivers who looked after her with such compassion. These are our heroes.

Visitation will be held Friday, December 17, 2021, from 4:30pm to 6:30pm at the Leak Memory Chapel. The funeral service will be private for family and caregivers with Rabbi Scott Looper officiating. It will be held Saturday at 2:00pm followed by a graveside service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Family Sunshine Center or to your favorite social service organization. Online condolences may be shared at: www.Leak-MC.com