Rita Rinelli

1942 - 2019

Rita Rinelli, 76 years old, a lifelong Kenosha resident, passed away Friday, June 21, 2019 at Froedtert South-Kenosha Medical Center.

Rita was born in Chicago, IL on November 7, 1942, the daughter of the late Alfred S. and Ann R. (Justiliano) Rinelli, and granddaughter of the late Sebastian and Rita Rinelli and Giacomo and Maria Justiliano.

Rita was a member of the St. Therese Catholic Church Choir in 1971, and from 1972-1979, she was a member of the choir at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. She instructed dance at Fred Astair Dance Studios in Madison, WI and worked at Rennebohm Drug Store in Madison. She was also a member of the Kenosha Car Club, and enjoyed attending classic car meets, where she often rode along. Rita volunteered as a reader with the Gateway EARS Program and was a member of the Carthage Community Chorus.

She worked at the Dayton Hotel from 1979-1980 and later, worked as a cashier at the Roosevelt Theater in its last year of operation, 1984. She participated with the Lakeside Players, in "The Man Who Came to Diner", and acted in the Gateway Technical College radio-dramatic program in 1982. She will be fondly remembered for her participation in local community theater, her love of country drives and her love for her beloved Chihuahua, PeeWee.

"Life and Death Are One, even as the river and sea are one In the depth of your hopes and desires lies the silent knowledge of the beyond, And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow, your heart dreams of spring, Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity" Kahlil Gibran

Survivors include her sisters, Paula Rinelli of Madison, WI and Linda Rinelli of Denver, CO; immediate cousins Marie, Myra, Cara, Bill and Brian, and the late Rita Reginato and Leonore Brown.

Celebration of Life to be scheduled at a later date.