Rita Ann Connolly McAllister was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa on July 26, 1931 to James Leo Connolly and Cecelia Swassing Connolly. She was the second of ten children. Her dad was an attorney and her mother was a homemaker. She was a very intelligent child and was strong willed. At the age of 3, her parents threw away an old rusted play stove that cut her hand. She chased down the trash truck to retrieve her beloved toy. She loved being a junior mother to all of her siblings. She met the love of her life, Charles (Chuck) McAllister at a dance. They fell in love and married on September 15, 1951. They lived in Omaha with their three children until August 1959. Rita and her family moved to Duncanville, Texas and extended their family with the addition of three more children. Rita stayed at home with the children and ran a tight but joyful ship. Rita and Chuck bought twenty acres of wooded land near Emory, Texas, where they built their dream house. Mom had high expectations for all of her children and loved them fiercely. The family camped all over Texas, pulling a hitched trailer behind their 1969 blue dodge. Rita loved animals and always took in orphans. Many of the neighbor children loved her and always felt welcomed in her home. She was so proud of all eighteen grandchildren and treasured her time with each one. She sewed many of her children’s clothes. She built seventy five doll houses and won several ribbons for her work at the state fair. Rita loved dancing with her husband and loved life. Although she suffered in the last few years with Alzheimer’s, her sweet smile and loving touch reassured us that she was ok.
She is survived by her six children, Teri Spiegel and her husband, Bob, Susie Nesmith and husband, David, Mike McAllister and wife, Cheryl, David McAllister and wife, Tracey, Bill McAllister and wife, Sherrie, Charlie McAllister and wife, Becky; eighteen grandchildren; siblings, Leo Francis Connolly, Timothy William Connolly, Nancy Theresa Jorgensen, Cecelia Mary Kunce, Rosellen Jones, Jeanne Marsh, Kathleen Fennell and Judith McNerney.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister, Janice Elaine Garbers.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m., Friday, July 6, 2012 at First Baptist Church Dallas, 1707 San Jacinto, Dallas, Texas 75201 with Rev. Ryland Whitehorn officiating.
The family will receive friends during a visitation on Thursday evening from 6:00-8:00 p.m., at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, Allen, Texas.