Rita Ann Bamberg's Obituary
Rita Ann (Mills) Bamberg, age 74 peacefully passed into the arms of Jesus on April 25, 2024 at Pine Tree Lodge Nursing Home in Longview, Texas.
Rita is survived by her two daughters, Stephanie Anne (Bamberg) Barry and husband Tim. Brittany Nicole Bamberg and husband Kevin McCue. Grandchildren Haley, Ayla, Adrian, Jacob and Jensen. Her sister, Robbie Gilbreath and husband, Don. Her cousin, Elaine Metts and 17 nieces and nephews!
Her husband Charles Bamberg and her son Chris preceded her in death as well as her parents, Cecil and Ovel Mills. Also 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Rita and her sister, Robbie were given up for adoption at 5 months and 21 months which created a bond that was never broken. So; it was a blessing that Robbie was one of Rita’s caretakers the last 10 years of her life.
Rita was born on June 26, 1949 in Memphis Tennessee. In 1956, she with her family moved to Longview, Texas. Rita graduated from Pine Tree High School in 1967. She took business courses at Kilgore Jr. College then worked at East Texas Teachers Credit Union, several local banks and then went to work for Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler from which she retired in 2012. Rita had to take a leave from working in 1971 due to her baby boy Chris, having been diagnosed with leukemia. He died at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston early 1973.
As a young adult Rita was the pianist at Central Baptist Church. She also played the clarinet for 7 years at Pine Tree! Rita had a great smile and loved interacting with people. She was a great encourager to her daughters. She attended many school activities of her daughters some of the time in a wheel chair. Rita loved to make family and friends happy. She lived a lot of her adult life suffering but would keep smiling until the last 71 days of her life!
Around 2012 she suffered a crippling accident which left her immobile for the rest of her life. In 2016 she moved to Pine Tree Lodge Nursing Home and called it home until her death. There she made many friends, played bingo, forty-two, worked puzzles, and rode her motorized chair around in the halls to visit with anyone who would talk to her.
The family wants to thank the Pine Tree Lodge Nursing Home’s staff for taking care of Rita these several years. We especially thank them (along with AccentCare) for the hospice care they provided her through the last week of her life.
Her funeral service will be at Rader Funeral Home in Longview at 2 pm (with visitation at 1:00) on Friday, May 3, 2024. An online memorial book may be signed at the funeral home website at www.raderfh.com
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