Rita R Stoltzfus

Services will be on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at Memorial Funeral Home with Visitation at 10 AM, Funeral Services at 11 AM, and interment to follow in Memorial Park Cemetery.

Rita was born on February 29, 1936, in Columbia, Missouri, the daughter of Olen and Augusta Thornton, and grew up in Columbia. In 1960, she was united in marriage to Ronald Stoltzfus who preceded her in death.

As a young person in Columbia, Rita was actively involved in school leadership, school activities, and local athletics. At Hickman High School, she served as Student Body Secretary and Treasurer and was a member of National Honor Society. She attended the University of Missouri, where she was a member of Gamma Phi sorority and earned a Bachelor of Science in Education. She earned a Master of Science in Education while working as a fifth-grade teacher and raising a family.

Rita taught in Webster Groves, Grandview and Raytown, Missouri before settling in Overland Park, Kansas. She taught fifth grade for 25 years at Don Bonjour Elementary School, in the Shawnee Mission School District while she served many years as an NEA representative.

Rita was an outstanding athlete and loved sports. She played softball as a teen in Columbia and grew to love tennis as an adult. She was an avid Missouri Tigers fan, most of all. Her connection to the University was embedded, not only as a local and graduate, but because her father was an employee of the University of Missouri Athletic Department. Once Rita transplanted to Overland Park, she became an avid follower of the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs, as well.

Rita enjoyed traveling as she got older. She was involved in a traveling group of friends and, upon retiring in 2001, her travels expanded.

Rita was an intelligent, active woman who treasured her family and friends. She made quite an impression on anyone who met her, and she will be missed dearly.

Rita is survived by her three children: Sheri Stoltzfus of San Diego, California; Greg and Jennifer Stoltzfus of Lenexa, Kansas; Deanne Stoltzfus of New York, New York; and her grandson: Brandon Stoltzfus of Lenexa, Kansas.