Mrs. Rita Mae Weaver

Ward Wilson Funeral Home and Crematory

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Posted by: Ward Wilson
Date: Dec 26 2023 2:51 PM

Rita Mae (Rice) Weaver, age 100, of Brunswick, Georgia, died on December 20, 2023.

Rita was born on January 7, 1923, in Malvern, Alabama to the late Herman and Macie (Hartzog) Rice. After Rita’s high school graduation, she moved to Birmingham where she took a course to learn the comptometer (an adding and calculating machine); this resulted in her getting a job with the Agriculture Department in Auburn, Alabama. It was there she went on a blind date and met her husband-to-be Paul Weaver, an Army Air Force soldier from Lawson Field in Fort Benning, Georgia. After a brief courtship, they married on September 12, 1942, but were separated for much of the war. Once Paul was discharged after World War II, they settled in Clarence, New York. Together, Paul and Rita built a car repair/gas station business that provided their livelihood for twenty-five years. In addition to playing an instrumental role in the administration of their business, Rita worked for the Sears department store in the Auditing Department. In 1971, they sold their business and house, moved to Clarence Center, and Paul began working for the Town of Clarence Highway Department. They retired in 1981 to the Dothan, Alabama area to be closer to her parents.

Rita was active in the Clarence Church of Christ as the church treasurer, Sunday School teacher, pianist, and choir member. She served as forwarding agent for John and Elizabeth Vallance, missionaries to Rhodesia, Africa. She also volunteered for many years with the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary and the Red Cross. Additionally, Paul and Rita volunteered much of their time and talent to Mountainview Christian Camp in Dansville, New York. They continued their church, church camp, and Red Cross volunteering activities during their retirement years.

When Paul’s health deteriorated, they moved from Alabama to Brunswick, Georgia to be closer to their daughter, Charlotte. When Paul died on June 2, 2017, he and Rita had been married for almost 75 years.

In addition to her beloved husband, Rita was preceded in death by their first two infant children (a daughter and a son); her parents; and her brother, Flavil Dolan Rice.

She is survived by three daughters and their husbands; Betsy (Lindstedt Monkelbaan) & Ron Greenwood, Charlotte & Lewis Burton and Paula & Jeff Harrison. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

We extend a special thank you to Shelby Mixon, friend and CNA care giver, and to Allison Wells, hospice nurse, for the tender care given to Rita at the end of her life.

Funeral services will be held at 11 AM, Friday, December 29, 2023 at Ward Wilson Funeral Home with burial following in Memory Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10 AM until 11 AM, prior to the service at the funeral home.

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