Rita K. Stack Obituary
Rita Kelsh Stack was born to eternal life on February 7, 2025 in her home at the age of 97.
Rita is survived by her son David (Pamela), granddaughters Maia and Zoe, brother-in-law Dennis (Bobbi) Stachowiak, sister-in-law Bernadine (Reginald+) Gacek, nieces, nephew and friends. Due to her exceptionally long life, many relatives and good friends have already preceded her in death.
Rita grew up in Shorewood, WI and used roller skates, bicycles, buses, trolleys and streetcars to get around during an age when cars were not so prevalent. She proudly attended St. Roberts Grade School, Shorewood High School and Wisconsin State Teachers College (now UW-Milwaukee) where she met Leonard (Len), her devoted husband of 61 years, after he returned from serving in WWII. Rita taught full time after graduation and then took a break when David was born. Afterwards she would occasionally substitute or teach part time.
Rita and Len moved into their Bayside home, which they built themselves along with a few friends, a couple weeks before David was born. Rita's faith in God and fidelity to the Catholic Church were hallmarks of her life. In the 1950's she was among the founding members of St James (later Lumen Christi) Parish in Mequon, WI and served in numerous ministries over the years.
She also found community through Charismatic prayer groups at the UWM Newman Center, St James Parish and St. Camillus Community. She was always surrounded by people and pets and spent many hours counseling friends and relatives over the phone. She could, and would, talk to anyone, anywhere. Rita had a distinctive sense of style and was an avid collector of antiques. A plaque in her Bayside, WI home proclaimed, "You can never over decorate!". Friends from her cul-de-sac at Whitman Place and Lumen Christi Parish made it possible for her to stay in her home until late 2023, when she moved to independent living and was welcomed by the members of the Servants of Yahweh Prayer group at the St. Camillus Community. There she was blessed to be able to ride her electric scooter from her apartment to Mass every day and to receive care from the wonderful hospice and home health care staff as she entered eternal life.
Visitation Saturday, March 7, 2025, from Noon until the eulogy begins at 1:00PM followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 1:30PM at Lumen Christi Catholic Church, 2750 W. Mequon Rd., Mequon, WI and live streamed at https://lumenchristiparish.org. Private family burial on March 8. In lieu of flowers, donations to Capuchin Community Services are appreciated.
