Mary Rita Kingsbury

Rita Kingsbury was a loving sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend. She died of a stroke on Saturday, October 21, 2023, in San Diego, California, one month shy of her 97th birthday.

She was born Mary Rita King in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the second of Fair and Agnes King’s five children. She was raised in Wolco, Oklahoma, a long-gone Shell Oil town. Her father owned general stores in the area, and she worked in the combination post office, gas station and store in Wolco growing up. In grammar school she won awards for her penmanship and was proud throughout life of her beautiful writing. In high school she was the band queen and graduated from Barnsdall High School. She met her future husband, Ben Price Kingsbury in Barnsdall the following year when she attended a high school football game. She often told the story that she threw popcorn at him to get his attention.

They were married in Barnsdall in 1950 when Ben was an ensign in the US Navy stationed in Maryland for flight school. Marrying into the Navy led to a very different life than she anticipated. They lived in Maryland, Florida, Washington, five bases in California and Okinawa. Rita and the children would sometimes spend time in Oklahoma with family when they were waiting for housing at their next assignment. Rita was often raising the children and running the house on her own while Ben was deployed, sometimes for as long as six months. Rita was active in the Officer’s Wives Clubs at the bases where they were stationed, helping with social and philanthropic efforts. While on Okinawa in the late 1950s, they traveled to Hong Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, and other cities in western Asia. Many of the furnishings in her home were bought during these trips. In 1970 they bought a home and settled down in San Diego, where Ben was stationed last. Rita volunteered at Weinberger Elementary, where her two youngest daughters attended school. She was active with the band boosters of Patrick Henry High School, where her five youngest graduated. Ben retired from the Navy in 1975 and from Cubic Co. in 1990. After that they bought a motorhome and traveled the country. They visited all 48 contiguous states and Alaska, often visiting family and friends. Ben and Rita continued a lifelong tradition of bi-annual family reunions with their extended families. They attended high school reunions and Bigheart Days in Barnsdall. They were active parishioners at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and members of the 55 Plus Club at Saint Therese Catholic Church. Rita was widowed in 2002 and continued to live a full life with her family and friends.

Rita enjoyed spending her time making things and being creative. She made stained glass with neighbors on her street and many of her pieces still hang in her children’s homes. She liked to sew, knit and crochet. She is famous with family and friends for the homemade flannel baby blankets she made with crocheted edges. They are regarded as the best swaddling blankets by all who received them. She volunteered 3,385 hours at Grossmont Hospital, sewing infant and children’s hospital gowns and stockings for infants during the holidays. She coordinated holiday crafts and cookie exchanges with her family and oversaw family potlucks that grew to 40+ people. Rita often said, “The best meal is one I don’t have to cook.” She enjoyed playing cards and the challenge of the daily crossword puzzle in the newspaper. She loved watching the Padres and the Chargers (before they left San Diego) and cheered in the stands at her grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s sporting events throughout the years. Rita coordinated annual family portraits to document her growing family, getting as many as possible together in recent years as people moved out of town. Rita lived in that same house she and Ben bought until February 2023 when she, and her dog Mia, moved to Lantern Crest Senior Living. She enjoyed her time at Lantern Crest, making new friends, hosting family, and establishing a new social life.

She was predeceased by her youngest son, Paul Daniel (Rosannah) Kingsbury in 2022. She is survived by her youngest brother, William King of Oklahoma City, and her five remaining children: Diane (Marc) Capitelli of Santa Rosa, CA, David (Sherry) Kingsbury of El Cajon, CA, Deborah (Jeffrey) Terrell of La Mesa, CA, Denise (David) Stillinger of Cardiff, CA, and Diedra (Michael) Stone of Fort Collins, CO. She is also survived by twelve grandchildren, and thirteen (but soon to be fourteen) great-grandchildren.

There will be a funeral mass for family and close friends at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church and her urn will be placed with Ben’s at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Rita’s honor to:

Sharp Grossmont Foundation

https://www.sharp.com/give/grossmont-foundation

The Patriots Connection @ the Rancho Santa Fe Foundation

https://rsffoundation.org/the-patriots-connection/

Nature Collective

https://naturecollective.org/