Rita Louise Mulrooney

Rita Mulrooney, age 84, of Wilmington, Delaware died at home on Sunday, April 19, 2015.  Rita was born on October 6, 1930, the sixth child of Margaret Ford Montgomery and Edward Aloysius Mulrooney.  She attended Christ Our King School and graduated from P.S. DuPont High School in 1948 where she was a cheerleader.  She graduated from Goldey-Beacom College in 1950 and began her career at the DuPont Company where she worked as an executive secretary until the mid-1980s.  Rita then left DuPont for her dream job at Longwood Gardens as secretary to the Executive Director.  She officially retired from Longwood in October of 2006, but she continued to volunteer there for several years.  

Rita had a rich life of travel, music, theater, friends, gardening, books and faith.  She traveled the world, from India to Indiana, in an era when you had to get dressed up to get on an airplane.  She sang in the choir at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, performed with “The Brandywiners” and patiently suffered the singing of her nieces and nephews at family gatherings.  She kept a beautiful garden and home among her beloved neighbors in the Highlands.  She enjoyed a lifetime of volunteering, starting at the Wilmington General Hospital and ending at the Woodlawn Library and the DuPont Hospital for Children.  She extended her love of education at the Academy of Lifelong Learning. 

Rita was predeceased by her parents, Margaret and Ed; her brothers, Ed, Joseph and Paul; and her sister, Patsy. 

She is survived by her sisters, Peggy Vallillo, of Macomb, Illinois and Joan McVey, of Wilmington, Delaware. She is also survived by fourteen nieces and nephews and a host of great-nieces and great-nephews who she enjoyed very much.

Family and friends may visit from 9:00am – 10:00am at the Doherty Funeral Home, 1900 Delaware Avenue, Wilmington, DE 19806 on Monday, April 27, 2015. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30am at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Gilpin Avenue and N. Union Street, Wilmington. Interment will follow in Cathedral Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, Rita would appreciate contributions in her memory be made to the Ministry of Caring, 119 N. Jackson Street, Wilmington, DE 19805.

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