Rita Geary

Rita Gabriela (Dowgala) Geary, 88, passed away peacefully early Wednesday morning, August 17, 2011 at the Tidewell Hospice House in Ellenton, FL. She was born April 1, 1923 in Hazleton, PA to Victor and Anna (Sorcinsky) Dowgala. She was one of the first women to sign up for the US Coast Guard Women’s Reserve known as the SPARS. In June of 1946, she wed John C. Geary at St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church. Toghether, they had three children: John C., Sharon A., and Thomas R. As a longtime resident of Florissant, MO, she was an active member of the Transfiguration Catholic Church. In the 1970s, she acted as the Treasurer for the St. Louis Military Officers Wives Club. In the 1980s, she spent her time as a volunteer for the elderly taking them to and from doctor appointments and to the grocery store. She made her home in Bradenton, FL in 1999 and became a member of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church. Funeral arrangements were handled by Palms-Robarts Funeral Home of Sarasota. She will be joined once again with her husband, John C. Geary, at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, MO. Condolences may be sent to Palms-Robarts Funeral Home (www.palmsrobartsfuneralhome.com). In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Tidewell Hospice House of Ellenton (http://tidewell.org/).

John C. Geary and John C. Geary, Jr. preceded her in death as well as all of her siblings: Sophia (Dowgala) Widzbor, Victor Dowgala, Ezra Dowgala, Eleanore (Dowgala) Bower, Irene (Dowgala) Kelly, Elsie (Dowgala) Farrell, and Albert Dowgala.

Survivors for Mrs. Geary include one daughter, Sharon A. Barnett, and son-in-law, Richard D. Barnett (both of Bradenton, FL), one son, Thomas R. Geary of St. Louis, MO, one daughter-in-law, Deborah (Epps) Geary of Columbia, SC, two nephews, James Farrell of CA and David Dowgala of Emmanus, PA, two granddaughters Jessica (and Aaron May of Bradenton, FL) Jennifer (and Ernie Brown of Riverview, FL), and four great-grandchildren (Levi and Allie, Jacob and Nicole Brown).