Catherine Rita Keehan McAleenan, 89, of Bolivia, widow of Chief Joseph A. McAleenan, passed away on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, peacefully at home in the company of her family.
Rita was born in Westport, Conn., on January 21, 1927, the daughter of the late Leo and Isabel Remlin Keehan. She had been a lifelong resident of Westport, Conn., until 1994, when she and her husband retired to New Bern. Rita was an accomplished bridge player and quilter who also enjoyed playing golf with Mac and their friends. Prior to retiring to North Carolina, Rita’s main focus was raising her family, after a successful career at Burndy Corp. in Norwalk, Conn.
Rita was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph Austin; parents; one sister, Mary Jane (Keehan) Hanley; and one brother, Edward Keehan.
Survivors include two daughters, Sheila Baker, and her husband, Jim, of Bolivia and formerly of Fairfield, Conn., and Kathleen Lucas, and her husband, John, from Trumbull, Conn.; one son, Shaun McAleenan, and his wife, Bonnie, of Loveland, Ohio; and eight grandchildren and three grandchildren-in-law, James and Kristen Walsh Baker, Matthew and Katelin Koebbe Baker, Ryan and Kelly Lucas, William, Glenn and Erin McAleenan and Shannon McAleenan and Ken Rutz; and three great-grandchildren, James H. Baker IV, Madeline and Jack Rutz.
Friends are invited to attend a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at St. Paul Church, 3005 Country Club Drive, New Bern.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Rita McAleenan may be made to Craven County Hospice, 2818 Neuse Blvd., New Bern, NC 28561.
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