St. Rita Square Remembers

 May 30, 2023

We gathered in the Cannoli Room to remember the thirteen residents that died the past year.

Tyler Palzkill welcomed us followed by Abby Syverson reading a poem.  We sang "Amazing Grace" accompanied by Jim Szantor on his clarinet.  Chaplain Jeremy Bryan talked about our perception of death and resurrection.  Another member of the staff read an excerpt from Ecclesiastes (3:1-8).  We observed silence after the names of the thirteen deceased were read.

Some of us remembered something special about any of these people; I mentioned Donald Wescher's outgoing nature.  Teffiny talked about Jason, our cook who died suddenly, and how much she missed him.  I told the group about the great website I discovered, findagravesite.com that helped me find my brother.  

As we concluded I approached a woman and a young lady asking who they were.  The woman said she was Jason's mother and the young lady was Jason's daughter.  I told them that I made the shawl that they received.  I was very happy to learn how much they appreciated and loved the shawl, especially Jason's favorite color, purple.

We helped ourselves to sandwiches, salad, pastries and soft beverages that we took into the trattoria.