Rita Helen Crockett

Rita Helen Crockett (nee Schroh) passed away peacefully due to complications from dementia in Palliative Care at St. Paul's Hospital on October 19, 2022, while loved ones were holding her hands reciting her favourite bible verses - Psalm 23 and the Lord's Prayer.

Rita was born in Kerrobert, SK, on May 26, 1935. As the oldest daughter and second oldest in her family of 10, she was no stranger to hard work as she helped her mom with chores and meals, and took care of her younger siblings. The Schroh family eventually moved to the Grandora, SK, area where Rita met and married Merle Crockett on November 18, 1955. The newlyweds moved onto the Crockett homestead, 7 miles East of Asquith, SK, where they worked a dairy farm and managed crops in the field.

Rita and Merle welcomed their first child, Debra, on February 22, 1960. Sadly, a few years later they lost their son, Douglas, in a full-term pregnancy. Then on February 6, 1968, their youngest child, Jodie, was born. Tragedy struck again in January 1972, when Merle passed away at 42 years old from a heart attack. This left Rita alone with 2 young children and the full workings of the farm and dairy. Her youngest brother, John, his wife, Carla, and their 2 children, Cindy and Monte, moved from Calgary and onto the farm shortly after to help her. For many years, this turned out to be a happy time for both families. In 1979, Rita sold the farm and moved to the town of Asquith with her daughters, Debbie and Jodie.

As time passed, Jodie had 2 boys, Michael and Logan. Rita felt blessed and loved being their gramma. Most painfully though, tragedy struck again when Michael suddenly died at age 15 in 2002. Then Debbie passed away 4 months later at 42 years old from a long battle with cancer. Rita stayed in the Asquith community for a couple more years and then moved to Saskatoon where she lived out her remaining years.

After Rita left the farm, she turned to her other passions for work - cooking and caregiving. For several years, she enjoyed being a mobile cook for crews and at Camp Wakonda. The diners enjoyed her 'spicy-ness' in both attitude and flavour. Rita was thankful for the opportunity later in life to be a caregiver to the elderly. She truly loved that type of work as she had always wanted to be a nurse, but life on the farm had laid out a different path for her.

In her last years, Rita enjoyed shopping, going to church, having her hair done, watching the birds and rabbits play in the grassy areas outside her house, and spending time with her special friends Nora and Brenda. She also loved outings with Cindy and her honorary grandkids, ‘The Littles’…Aubrey, Ben and Owen, by doing all sorts of excursions like going to the Forestry Farm, the Berry Barn, and on picnics. Additionally, she enjoyed visits with Jodie and Cindy, telling them as they were leaving the house, “You girls be good or I’m going to kick your butts!”, while giving them a knowing smile and laughing her unique, throaty laugh, with full awareness that they likely ‘wouldn’t be good’.

In her earlier years, Rita's other passions included coaching Jodie's fastball team. A source of pride with her was that under her guidance, a true Cinderella story occurred. The underdogs were her girls fastball team from the little town of Asquith and they ended up winning the Provincial Championship! Her other personal passion was being a member of the Legion. At 87 years old, she could still recite the membership oath she had taken and held dear over a half century earlier.

Throughout her life, Rita was a confident, strong-willed, feisty, outspoken force-to-be-reckoned-with, who took fierce care of and protected the ones she loved. Family was extremely important to her, as were friends, so she would often step up to host special gatherings over her lifetime. Once someone met Rita, it was hard to forget her beautiful blue eyes and carefully coiffed hairdos. Through her inner circles, she was known as 'Rita Rocket' or 'Red', due to her red-coloured hair and signature red lipstick. Her easy laughter, German quips, and sayings such as 'That type thaing' will be fondly remembered and missed.

Rita was predeceased by her husband, Merle Crockett; daughter, Debra Crockett; son, Douglas Crockett; grandson, Michael Crockett; father and mother, Michael and Miranda (Gerlinsky) Schroh; and father- and mother-in-law, Roy and Emma (Haanen) Crockett. Additionally, she was predeceased by many of her brothers, brothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law, Richard Schroh, Daniel and Gloria Schroh, John and Carla Schroh, Delbert and Irene Schroh, Bill Cragg, Bill Zaitsoff, Linda Schroh, and Dan Bekolay; nephew, Lance Schroh; great-nephew, Easton Spence; and many uncles, aunts and cousins.

Surviving are Rita's daughter, Jodie (Trevor Landrie) Zimmer; grandson, Logan Zimmer; niece and honorary daughter, Cindy (Garth) Kroeger; great-niece and honorary granddaughter, Alison (David) Friesen; great-great-niece and great-great-nephews and honorary grandchildren, Aubrey, Benjamin and Owen Friesen; sister, Jeanette (Raymond) Hedman; brother, Mike Schroh; sister, Marcy Zaitsoff; sister-in-law, Joyce Cragg; special nieces and nephew, Lorrie (Joe Vitkauskas) Allison, Mona (Warren) Spence, and BJ (Melanie) Zaitsoff, and their families; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and cousins.

There will be a Graveside Service at Asquith Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday October 29, 2022. There will also be a reception to follow at Asquith Senior's Centre (515 Main Street). All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Rita’s memory to the Geriatric Assessment Unit at City Hospital. They offer an exceptional service to seniors and their families who are dealing with changing medical needs.

You can go online to schfgo.com to donate, or cheques can be made payable to: Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation c/o The Geriatric Assessment Unit, In Memory of Rita Crockett 701 Queens Street Saskatoon, SK S7K 0M7.

Arrangements entrusted to Travis Minor.