Rita M. Raponi (nee Wagner), age 82 and a resident of Lorain, passed away
Saturday, July 17, 2021 at her residence with her devoted husband of 53 years
Ted at her side after a long illness.

Rita was born December 18, 1938 in Piqua to the late Richard and Thelma (nee
Frock) Wagner.  She was a 1956 graduate of Bedford High School.  Rita
attended Hiram College.  She was formerly employed as a secretary at Kent
State University where she also typed many master's and doctoral
dissertations, including her husband Ted's.  She later received an
associate's degree from the Business Division of Lorain County Community
College where she worked for five years, and later several years at Oberlin
College.  Her hobbies and interests in her younger years include sewing,
crocheting, painting, and more recently Sudoku.  Soon after moving to
Lorain, Rita visited the elderly as a volunteer through the Roman Catholic
Church of St. Peter.  Rita is currently a member of Sacred Heart Chapel.
For many years Rita was a volunteer for the Lorain County Board of
Elections.  Rita always enjoyed watching her sons participate in sports

and musical activities. She enjoyed crossword puzzles and Sudoku.

Most important to Rita was watching her beloved granddaughter Evie

playing in soccer matches.

Survivors include her husband Teodoro "Ted",  son John Burns (Laura Radtke)
of Oak Forest, Illinois, son and daughter-in-law Carl and Tamara (nee Smith)
Raponi of Gahanna, son Richard Raponi of Cleveland, precious granddaughter
Evelyn "Evie" Raponi of Gahanna, sister and brother-in-law Teresa (nee
Wagner) and David Bulatek of Ithaca, New York and Lorain, sister-in-law Rosa
(nee Raponi) Paulus and Joseph Todaro of Northville, Michigan, sister-in-law
Filomena (nee Raponi) and Lawrence Orosz of Lorain, and many nieces and
nephews and their families.

Family will receive friends from 2-6 p.m., on Thursday at the
Garland-Misencik Funeral Home, 851 Park Avenue, Amherst.  The funeral mass
will take place Friday, 9:30 a.m., at Sacred Heart Chapel, 4301 Pearl
Avenue, Lorain.  Friends will be received at church one hour prior to the
mass.  Private family interment in Calvary Cemetery, Lorain.

 

The family thanks Dr. Catherine Jones and the Cleveland Clinic Hospice Program

for such compassionate care for Rita.

In Rita's honor, memorials may be made to either of the following
organizations that were dear to Rita's heart; Friendship Animal Protective
League, 8303 Murray Ridge Rd., Elyria, OH  44035 or NRDC (National Resources
Defense Council), P.O. Box 1830, Merrifield, VA  22116-8030 or online at
act.nrdc.org.