Rita Eleanor Whalen

Rita Eleanor Garille Whalen died peacefully on February 6, 2017, in San Antonio, TX. Born August 8, 1923, in Hoboken, New Jersey, Rita was the youngest and last surviving child of Domenico and Maria (Paganelli) Garilli.

Graveside services are scheduled for 11:30 a.m. February 24 at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio. A memorial service will follow at the Village at Incarnate Word, 4707 Broadway in San Antonio.

Both of Rita’s parents were immigrants from Emilia Romagna, Italy, who arrived in New York City in the 1890s via Ellis Island. She grew up in a close-knit Italian family and community in Hoboken but faced early adversity when her father died when she was five.

Rita attended Hoboken schools and graduated from A.J. Demarest High School in 1940. She spent several years before World War II working as a stenographer at a company in the Empire State Building.

She married fellow Hoboken native Thomas P. Whalen on June 1, 1946 after his return from the Pacific Theater. When Tom re-joined the U.S. Navy, Rita became a Navy wife and lived on bases in San Diego, Saipan, Cuba, Rhode Island and Florida with an ever-increasing family in tow.

The family lived in Tampa, FL, for eight years when Tom retired from the Navy before moving to Schertz, TX, in 1972. Rita was active in the Ladies Auxiliary of Knights of Columbus Council 6358 and a devoted member of Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Schertz. She received her drivers’ license for the first time at age 55 and worked in retail in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Rita was a loving wife to Tom and nurturing mother to her six children. She was a great source of comfort for her children when they were growing up and could be counted for an honest assessment of any situation. She was a talented seamstress and crochet artist, producing clothes, sweaters and blankets for her children and grandchildren. Rita handled the family’s finances and as a child of the Depression, understood how to stretch a dollar. She delighted in being able to pay for her children and grandchildren to join her and Tom in Key West to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in 2006. Rita traveled several times to Europe, visiting Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and France.

Rita’s likes included: playing bingo, doing the crossword and Sudoku in pen, cooking and eating Italian food, Frank Sinatra, the beach on Anna Maria Island, the San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Braves and sweets. Her dislikes included: movies that disparage Italians, cats, cold weather, the Los Angeles Lakers and vegetables.

Rita was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Tom in 2010; and siblings Angela (Julia), Thomas, Mario (Marty), Tillio (Mickey), Emma, George, Anna, and John. She is survived by children Daniel Whalen and wife Maureen, Clear Lake TX; Christine Young and husband Michael, Schertz, TX; Mary Clayton and husband Mark, Ave Maria, FL; Philip Whalen and wife Daria, Cibolo, TX; Regina Maxfield and husband Mike, Atlanta, GA; and Ken Whalen and wife Jackie, Austin, TX; 10 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

While we will miss her terribly, the family is comforted by the devoted and kind care Rita received during the last eight years of her life at the Village at Incarnate Word and would like to thank the nurses and caregivers. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Rita‘s name to the Incarnate Word Legacy Fund, 4707 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209.