Marjorie Elizabeth Neal

KEWANEE - Marjorie Elizabeth Neal (Ritta) passed away April 4, 2018, after a brief illness following a stroke. She was just shy of her 92nd birthday.  She lived with her son, John, and her grandchildren Derek and Lanson in Kewanee, Illinois, for six years.  Prior to her return to Illinois where she grew up in rural Mundelein she lived for forty-four years in the Rhinebeck, New York area where she worked for years at the gate of the Dutchess County Fair, as a poll worker and treasured her position as a receptionist at the Astor Home for Children. She loved her family and especially bonded with her special needs grandson, Derek, who lived with her after her husband, Cecil, of 54 years died.

One story always told about her was when she was a child riding with her parents along an icy road and the car spun in the center of the road.  Instead of being frightened, she said “Do it again Daddy!” That was Marj. In her youth, she was a majorette and could dance the jitterbug.

She is survived by her brother, Ernest R. Ritta (Joan) and her four children; Gerald R. Neal (Donna), Thomas W. Neal (Carlene), Janet Neal Hughes (Tom), John W. Neal (Elizabeth 1994), her six grandchildren; Tracy Neal Sherrow, Todd Neal (Rhonda), Chad Neal (Kimmy), Matthew Neal, Derek Neal, and Lanson Neal, and her six great grandchildren; Adler, Alex, Lola, Carly, Harlow, and Emmerson. Predeceasing her was her husband, Cecil R. Neal (1999), her parents, Ernest P. Ritta, Gertrude E. Ritta (Thorsell) and her three sisters; Shirley Clark, Irene McCormick and Frances Hertel.

A memorial service will be held at a later date at the Ivanhoe Congregational Church in Mundelein with internment of her ashes following in the Ivanhoe Congregational Church graveyard adjacent to the church where Cecil and many members of Marjorie’s family are buried. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Special Olympics. Rux Funeral Home in Kewanee is in charge of arrangements.

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