Rita Heitz Sayre Lanning

Rita Heitz Sayre Lanning went home to be with the Lord on July 22, 2024, at the age of 91. Rita was born September 17, 1932 to Mabel and Albert Heitz, the only girl in a family of boys in Mansfield, OH.

Rita was preceded in death by her parents; husband and father of her children, Dick Sayre, second husband Hollis Lanning; brothers and sister-in-law Dick, George, Billy, Norm (Helen) and Jim Heitz; and stepson and daughter-in-law Jerry and Sylvia Lanning.

She is survived by children Michelle (Tom) Walton, Dan (Laurie) Sayre, grandson Alex (Payton) Sayre; step-children Jean (Don) Tanner, Jimmy (Debbie) Lanning, Jan (Brett) Castle; sister-in-law and lifelong friend, Fern Heitz; niece and nephews who were like her own children Nancy (Frank) Weintraub, Mark, Jim and Joe Heitz; many great-nieces and nephews, step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren, friends and her church family at Maize Road Baptist Church.

Rita loved the Lord and lived her faith every day. She loved to study the Bible and worship; she put her faith into action by volunteering and supporting missions across the globe.

After growing up in Mansfield and Zanesville, Rita moved with her family to Columbus where she happily spent the rest of her life. Rita was a great mom. While raising her family in North Linden, she volunteered for the Clinton Township firehouse women’s auxiliary, as a Girl Scout leader and with the Cub Scouts. The family spent many happy times camping all over Ohio and weekend nights singing country music with the Dill family.

Rita loved to sew and was a skilled seamstress. From clothes for the kids, to amazing costumes for Halloween, costume parties and school plays, to draperies and household goods, she made beautiful and practical things for her friends and family. Later, she put that talent to use sewing for charity through Knots of Love at her church, TWIG and other charitable groups.

She enjoyed many of her hobbies and interests throughout all the seasons of her life. She loved baseball, rooting for the Cincinnati Reds and going to Columbus Clippers games with Dan; bluegrass music; the Ohio State Fair, British mysteries and comedies in books and on TV; animals, especially dogs, and visiting Lake Erie (“The Lake”). She loved anything to do with flying, from greeting Jerry Mock at Port Columbus in 1964 to successfully “flying and landing” a jet in a flight simulator in 2022. In her later years, she wasn’t sure she’d like apartment life, but at her apartment home, she truly loved going to the pool, chatting with her neighbors and carrying treats in her walker bag so she could feed and pet all of the dogs in the building.

Most of all, Rita loved God, her country, her family and her friends. She will be missed by many.

Thanks to her OhioHealth medical care team over the past few years, and especially to the caring staff at Riverside Methodist Hospital in her last days.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one the many charities Rita loved and supported, including: Samaritan’s Purse, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), Wounded Warrior Project, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA} or your local shelter and Maize Road Baptist Church.

Family and friends will gather for a visitation which will be held from 5-7pm on Wednesday, July 31, 2024 at ADVANTAGE by SCHOEDINGER NORTH, 5554 Karl Road, where her Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, August 1 at 10:00am. Following the service, we invite you to share stories, laughter and memories at a luncheon at Maize Road Baptist Church, 4251 Maize Road, Columbus, Ohio, 43224. Interment will follow at Forest Lawn Memorial Garden.