Rita M. Chavarria

Rita M. Chavarria OGDEN – Our loving mother and grandmother, Rita Sanchez Martinez Chavarria, went home to our Lord and Savior on Tuesday, August 28, 2007, following a courageous battle with cancer. She was a loving mother who had the heart of a saint and was as strong as a bull. She was born May 17, 1935 in Cuba, New Mexico, a daughter of Ruben and Teodorita Aragon Sanchez. Rita married Joe Ignacio Martinez in June of 1953. He died in 1967. She married Eliazar Lee Chavarria in 1971 and Eliazar preceded her in death in 1991. She was a member of the Catholic Church. Rita retired from Weber State University. Rita loved to dance and was an excellent cook and could make something out of nothing. We are all going to miss her tortillas. She was both mother and father to all of her children and devoted her entire life to her family. A special thank you to our sister, Virginia, for the special care she gave to our Mother towards the end of her life. Surviving are her children, Lawrence (Andrea) Martinez, West Haven; Joe R. (Cindy) Martinez, Eagle River, AK; Rosemary (Jesse) Garcia, West Haven; Virginia (Poncho) Martinez, Layton; Perry Martinez, Roy; Rita “Lizzy” (Vidal) Martinez, Roy; Gloria Gallegos, Riverdale; Peggy (Abie) Martinez, Roy; Connie Chavarria (Dean) Mitchell, Tampa, FL; Cherrish (Donald) Martinez, and Lee (Chel) Chavarria, both of Ogden; 28 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. Also surviving are four brothers, Frank Sanchez, Moises (Mary) Sanchez, David (Petra) Sanchez, Felix (Porfilia) Sanchez, and her special friend Georgia Lucero. Rita was preceded in death by her parents, both husbands and her grandson Jonathan “Shea” Martinez. Funeral Mass will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 514 – 24th Street. Family will meet friends at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd., on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. where Holy Rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Interment, Evergreen Memorial Park. Email condolences to the family at: www.lindquistmortuary.com