Recent Deaths

Sister Mary Rita Thompson
1934–2022

Sister Mary Rita Thompson, OSM, 88, died peacefully at Ladysmith Care & Rehab on August 20, 2022.

She was born in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 15, 1934, to William Seth and Margaret (Bonnes) Thompson. She entered the Servants of Mary in 1948 as a freshman in high school, became a postulant in 1951, and made her first profession of vows in 1953. Her religious name was Sister Mary Imelda.

She grew up in Amery, Wis., and graduated from Our Lady of Sorrows High School in Ladysmith. She held a bachelor’s degree from Mount Senario College and a CNA certificate from St. Paul TVI.

Sister Mary Rita taught for 21 years in elementary schools staffed by the Servants of Mary in Minnesota, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, including Our Lady of Sorrows School in Ladysmith. She then ministered as a central supply aide at St. Mary’s Hospital, Kewaunee, Wis.; parish visitor at Holy Rosary Parish, Medford, Wis.; CNA in Burnsville, Minn.; and home health aide in Minneapolis, Minn., and in Amery and Portage, Wis.

She was a tireless volunteer, assisting at Mary House of Hospitality in Wisconsin Dells, as well St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, River Haven Homeless Shelter, Divine Savior Extended Care, St. Mary’s Meals on Wheels, and Columbia County Extended Care in Portage, Wis.

She is survived by a brother, Thomas Moore (Shirley) Thompson of Shingle Springs, Calif., many nieces and nephews, and the Ladysmith Servite Sisters, with whom she shared life for 74 years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Margaret Gail (Patrick) Enright, and her brother William Howard (Helen) Thompson.

Father Papi Reddy Yeruva presided at a Mass of Christian Burial on August 26, 2022, at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Ladysmith, assisted by Deacon Craig Voldberg. Her cremains are buried in the Servite Sisters’ section of Riverside Cemetery in Ladysmith.