Rita completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree at University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. She partnered her husband who was a diplomat for Sri Lanka, until his retirement in 1983. As diplomats, they travelled extensively, living in nine countries in the Far East, Middle East and Europe. She worked at U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo Bank 1983 until retirement. Rita was known for her social graces, her hospitality and her devotion to her Catholic faith. She was a member of Elizabeth Ann Seaton, Beaverton, OR; and Christ the King Catholic Church, Milwaukie, OR.
She and her husband relocated to the Portland, OR area, settling down in Beaverton in 1983, to be close to her siblings. Rita loved volunteering for social causes and is well remembered for her love of cooking and feeding family and friends. No one left her house hungry. Rita loved to entertain and sing, and had a remarkable memory of songs. After the death of her husband of fifty-seven years in 2013, she moved to assisted living at the Town Center Village and Elmcroft.
Rita is survived by her five children and their spouses; Rosanna Joseph- Natta and PierFrancesco Natta of Milan Italy; Bernadette Thavarajah of Milwaukie, OR; Anthony (Al) and Anusha Joseph of Vancouver, WA; Noel and Pat (Johnson) Joseph, of Canby, OR; and Sharmini and David Gossman of San Antonio, TX. She will be missed by her grandchildren, Jesica Thavarajah (MacFayden) of Washington ,DC; Rekha Thavarajah -West of Mountain House, CA; Chiara Maria Natta of Milan, Italy; Michael Joseph of Portland, OR; Pier Filippo Natta of San Diego, CA and Thomas Gossman of San Antonio, TX, and her two great- grandchildren Layla and Devan West.
Rita is also survived by her beloved sisters Emma Bosco and Therese Suntheram of Portland, OR, her brothers Fr. Stanislaus Philips of Sri Lanka and Edward (Ed) Philips of Portland, OR, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A visitation for Rita will be held Friday, December 20, 2019 at 5:00 PM at Christ the King Catholic Church, 11709 SE Fuller Rd., Milwaukie, OR 97222. A rosary service will follow at 5:30 PM with a Mass of Christian Burial following at 6:00 PM. A private burial will take place at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.skylinememorialgardens.com for the Joseph family.
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