Rita Marie Chad, age 74, passed away peacefully at home in Southboro on July 18, 2023, with her devoted and loving family at her side.
She is survived by her beloved husband, David; and her deeply loved and cherished daughter Rebecca. She was the adored and loving sister of Ellen Cronin and her husband, the late Joe Cronin; and her brothers, Robert (Bob) Totten and his wife, Linda, and William (Bill) Totten and his wife, Nancy. Rita is also survived by her dear nieces and nephews, cousins, and wonderful devoted friends. Rita was predeceased by her parents, Helena and Robert Totten. Rita was born in Cambridge, MA, raised and educated in Dorchester and then Milton.
Throughout her life, Rita thrived on making meaningful connections, in the early years with her siblings and over many decades with friends. Ellen and Rita, Bob and Bill developed strong lifelong bonds, forged in joy and reinforced by their deep caring and respect for each other. Friendships established from different facets of Rita’s life, including high school and college, neighborhood connections, and later Rita’s book club, grew only stronger as Rita and her peers developed a deep and abiding mutual empathy and understanding of their joys and sorrows.
From an early age, Rita impressed her educators with her talent for academics; from her teachers at St. Brendan’s elementary school and the nuns at Fontbonne academy (high school), to the Professors of Stonehill college, every educator she met saw how her luminous intelligence (cloaked in modesty) would light up a room. After college, Rita worked a couple of years at a travel agency, which prompted her to experience the pleasures of discovery with her college friends, and later with David and Rebecca. Her next position was clinic secretary for the Tufts Neurology department, where she and a nurse colleague conducted all administrative and nursing facets of a busy faculty-resident-fellow practice with expertise and grace. In his first year of fellowship, David fell in love with this incredible secretary and beautiful person. Before they wed in 1985, Rita took a position as secretary in the pharmacy department at Tufts; she was enthusiastic about her work and felt the love of the senior staff. With the arrival of Rebecca, Rita became a full-time mother and homemaker. She cherished the years of being a stay-at-home mom. Later when the house got a little too quiet, Rita went back to the secretary’s desk for a physical therapy practice and enjoyed the work and the camaraderie of her colleagues.
It is no exaggeration to say that when Rita made an appearance (whether at a job, a book club meeting, during a family gathering, or her own oncology visits), with her humor, warmth, ease, and wit the feeling in the room would somehow enliven and the atmosphere brighten, and the faces of those assembled would appear a little happier.
David and Rebecca would like to thank Dr. Kathryn Edmiston and her colleagues at the UMass Breast Cancer center, and the staff from VNA Hospice, (Needham) (especially Marion Kettell and Katie Mechan).
There will be a funeral service at the chapel at the Newton cemetery and arboretum on Friday July 21, 2023 at 11:00 AM followed by a burial at the cemetery. After the cemetery service, the family invites all who are available to continue to remember Rita at a Shiva at their home. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the breast cancer center at UMass or VNA hospice (Needham).
(Photo and Obituary via Brezniak Funeral Directors)
David and Rebecca please accept my deepest condolences. I am so sorry for your loss. Rita and I first met when our girls were in nursery school. We then reconnected when my family moved to Southborough. The girls graduated together. Rita was a warm, caring woman whom I am honored to have known. Barbara Millett