Maurita Garnette "Rita" Russell

Maurita Garnette "Rita" Russell, age 58, a resident of Fort Scott, died unexpectedly Saturday, May 10, 2008, at the Mercy Hospital Emergency Room following an apparent heart attack. She was born Nov. 18, 1949, in Kansas City, Kan. She married Carl West on April 23, 1966, in Fort Scott. He preceded her in death on Nov. 28, 2000. She later married Thomas J. Russell on Oct. 27, 2002 in Fort Scott. Rita was a member of the Church of Christ and the V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary. She also had served as a Cub Scout leader and a foster mother. She enjoyed reading and sewing and had volunteered her time making blankets and quilts for the Ronald McDonald house. She also enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren.

Survivors include her husband, Tom, of the home; three sons, Tate West, of LaCygne, Kan., Shaun West, Fort Scott, and Byron West, Nevada; a daughter Alisa Miner, of Fort Scott; a stepdaughter, Cassandra Edminston, of Gentry, Ark.; 14 grandchildren and six stepgrandchildren. Also surviving are 10 brothers, Jim, Leo Jay, Jerry, Jesse, Kevin, Robert, Dennis, Wayne, Don and Charles Russell. In addition to her husband, Carl, she was preceded in death by her mother, Ruth Russell; two brothers, Leslie and Joseph Russell and a sister, Louise Roy.

Charles Russell, will conduct funeral services at 10 a.m., Wednesday, May 14, at the Cheney Witt Memorial Chapel. Burial will follow in the United States National Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m., today, at the Cheney Witt Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary or the Assembly of God Kid's Life and may be left in care of the Cheney Witt Memorial Chapel, 201 S. Main, P.O. Box 347, Fort Scott, KS, 66701. Words of sympathy may be emailed to the family at condolences@cheneywitt.com.