All who knew her will cherish their memories of RITA MARY HANEWINKEL who passed from this life on Saturday, 9 November, 2024, after a brief illness.

Born at home on May 27, 1937, Rita was the eleventh child of the fifteen children of Katherine (nee Julius) and William Hanewinkel Sr. of Affton, Missouri.

Seven Holy Founders school and Notre Dame High School prepared Rita for acceptance into the community of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph, Owensboro, Ky., where she professed as Sr. John Mary O.S.U.  She earned her B.A. degree from Brescia College while teaching primary grades in Kentucky Catholic schools. Later she would earn her Master of Science in Education degree from Indiana University.

In 1968, Rita transitioned from convent life but continued teaching in Catholic schools in Louisville Kentucky and Jeffersonville Indiana until her retirement. Her many students will remember her as a creative and loving teacher. She was an “influencer” before the era of the internet. She brought out the best in her students encouraging them to find joy in learning and fulfillment in their lives. Rita was very proud of the accomplishments her former students obtained in their adult life and remained in contact with many of them. Rita was a member of Sacred Heart and St. Augustine Catholic Churches in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Together with her companion, Mary Jo Wathen, they brought hospitality, kindness, and comfort to friends and family alike. After Mary Jo’s passing in 2021, Rita returned to her roots in St. Louis to be near her family which included her brothers Jack, Wally and Jerry Hanewinkel; her sisters Kay Schwartz, Joan Schwartz, Helen Hiegel. Her 98 nieces/nephews and many greats.  Her niece, Lucy Marty, was instrumental in seeing to Rita’s care and well being throughout her senior years.

 Let us remember Rita for her laughs, her quirks, the happy times together, for her acceptance of others and the compassion she showed to those in need, for the love she shared with friends and family, for her strength in adversity and for her faith in God and mankind.