Rita Ann Falitico

Rita Ann Falitico passed away peacefully in April at the age of 91, in Riverside, California, at the convalescent home where she had resided for several years. She was cared for by devoted members of the staff and hospice team in her final days.

Born in 1933 in Rome, New York, Rita was the youngest child of Italian immigrants John and Mary Falitico and grew up as part of a large, blended family of 11 children. A 1951 graduate of Rome Free Academy, she went on to study music and became a dedicated piano teacher. Later, she pursued additional studies at Riverside City College and the University of California, Riverside.

In 1959, Rita relocated from Upstate New York to Southern California, where she devoted more than 35 years to serving as director of educational programming at Anza Care Preschool in the city of Riverside. There, she shared her love of music and the arts with generations of local children. She took special pride in the preschool’s historic home—a Queen Anne-style Victorian house built in the 19th century by Milton John Daniels, a former member of Congress—and in the Lake Arrowhead home she co-owned with her business partner. Later in life, she was also a resident of Hemet, Calif.

Rita will be remembered for her friendly smile, her sense of humor, her passion for cross-country skiing and playing the piano—especially her fondness for Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto and any song in the key of C—and her extreme willingness to help just about anyone who seemed in need. She was a great lover of animals. She provided many dogs with happy homes and the kind of diet that requires high blood pressure medication in humans.

Rita is survived by her many nieces, nephews, and their families, who will cherish her memory. The family extends its thanks to McWane Family Funeral Home in Hemet, Calif., and Bottini Funeral Home in Rome, New York, for their support and help. In lieu of a service, she was interred in the Falitico family plot at St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Rome, New York, alongside her parents and her brother, Lucien.