Rita Rheé Chuvala, 76, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, found complete healing from Alzheimer’s and all other effects of sin on October 24, 2010, and now rests with the Lord Jesus.
Rita was born on November 23, 1933 in Mt. Vernon, New York to Gordon J. and Gloria D. (Walker) Scott. The daughter of a talented and in-demand engineer, the family moved to various cities in the northeast during her early life. She graduated from Katonah (NY) High School in 1951, and Berkeley Secretarial School in White Plains, NY, in 1952. She continued her education throughout her professional life, earning numerous certificates in various office-related areas and technologies.
In her mid 20’s Rita met Stephen Chuvala while playing badminton — by all accounts, rather badly! Steve took mercy on her as-yet unformed badminton skills, and the two “courted” in a different way, and married on January 30, 1959 settling down in Danbury, CT, Steve’s hometown, where they lived, worked, and reared two sons until Steve’s retirement in 1976. The family moved that year to Albuquerque, where they enjoyed living close to Rita’s brother Terry and his family, her father and stepmother Feijke, all of whom had moved to the city in previous years. Rita and Steve loved the sunshine and clear, dry climate of Albuquerque (so much more suitable for their shared love of tennis than the northeast!), and Christ Lutheran, their final church home in this world. They made many fast friends here in their new home, where they lived the rest of their lives.
Rita worked as a secretary and receptionist for many years, and ended her career with long tenure in civil service, working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Social Security Administration, and the last 15 years with the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she was a supervisor in the Centralized Transcription Unit in Albuquerque.
Rita was preceded in death by her Mother, her Father, and her dear husband Stephen. She is survived by her sons, Keith Gordon Chuvala and his wife Sharon of Friendswood, Texas, and Kevin Scott Chuvala of Durango, Colorado; by her grandchildren Patrick Michael and wife Amy, Timothy Christian, Andrew Kent, Christopher Stephen, and Holly Nicole Chuvala (children of Keith and Sharon); by her brother Terrance J, Scott and his wife Alfides (“Blackie”), and her stepmother Feijka (Bleeker) Scott, all of Albuquerque; by her stepchildren Ray Chuvala and his wife Marlene of Arizona, Richard Chuvala and Ysabel Chuvala, both of Idaho, and Lynne Kearney of Connecticut, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, located in New Mexico, Colorado and Pennsylvania.