Rocky Hill Obituary: Rita Churchill, 100

Rita (Johnson) Churchill, 100, of Newington passed away on February 7, 2018 at the Jefferson House in Newington.

She was born July 16, 1917 in East Hartford to John and Esther (Bjorklund) Johnson. She was a 1934 graduate of East Hartford High School. She worked as a telephone operator in the 1930s, a switchboard operator at Aetna in the 1940s and 1950s and returned to the workforce as a salesperson at Mille Mills in the 1970s. She lived in Rocky Hill for 40 years and also lived in Germantown, MD, Chesapeake, VA and West Hartford.

She was predeceased by her husband, Robinson Churchill, and is survived by her children, Brian Churchill (Patricia Cooper) of Tucson, AZ, Donna Seremet (Martin) of West Hartford and grandchildren, Misty Churchill of Keene, TX, Mica Shockey (Brian) of Hagerstown, MD, Leah Churchill of Hagerstown, MD, Michael Seremet of Gloucester, MA and Matthew Seremet of West Hartford and three great grandchildren, Kyle and Michael Whitacre and Rachel Shockey.

Rita was an avid reader and knitter. She loved baking Swedish cakes and cookies, especially for the holidays. She also enjoyed solving crossword, cryptogram, Sudoku and quote acrostic puzzles well into her nineties. Rita also watched Jeopardy faithfully for much of her life and enjoyed matching wits with the questions.

In an age where most people choose to communicate by phone or text, Rita preferred writing correspondence by hand until advanced age prevented her from doing so. She delighted in exchanging letters with family. She thoroughly enjoyed sharing a century of memories with her family at her 100th birthday party last summer.

Her family would like to thank the staff at Jefferson House for their compassionate care of Rita during the past two and a half years.

Services and burial are private at the convenience of the family.