Rita (Bires) Wolfgang

Rita (Bires) Wolfgang, 79

Campbell… Rita (Bires) Wolfgang, 79, entered into eternal life on Friday, Feb. 28, 2020, after a lifelong illness.

Rita was born October 9, 1940, in Youngstown to Mary (Merva) and Stephen Bires.  She was a lifelong resident of Campbell.  She attended Campbell Memorial High School and then graduated from Ursuline High School in 1958. 

She married her beloved husband, Eugene on May 12, 1962 and had four children, Stephen (Diana Testa), Michael (Mary Frances), Monica (James) Szilagyi, and Cathleen (Larry) Shaffer.

Rita was a member of St. John the Baptist Slovak Church, where she received all seven sacraments and was on their Parish Council and the Infant Guild. 

She was employed at General Electric and St. John the Baptist School.  She belonged to St. Joseph the Provider School and St. John the Baptist School’s Parent Teacher Association and the Tripoly Card Club.  She was president of the Resident Council at Hampton Woods Nursing Home.

Rita enjoyed quilting, sewing, ceramics, crocheting and playing cards online.  She especially loved her traditional Slovak family holidays.

Rita leaves behind to cherish her memory, her husband, children and grandchildren, Emily and Michael Wolfgang, Dean and Jessica Varie, and Ethan and Noah Shaffer.  She leaves behind her loving sister, Irene Neshite and nieces and nephews, Diane Gondor, Darlene Sova, Stephen Neshite, Donna Malloy and Thomas Neshite and many great nieces and nephews.  She also leaves behind Mary Ann Slanina and Shirley Beck, her best friends since she was three years old.

Rita was preceded in death by her parents; her eldest grandchild James Gabriel Szilagyi, Jr.; and her maternal grandparents, Petronella and John Merva.

The family wishes to thank her loving “family” (the staff) at Woodlands at Hampton Woods Nursing Home, where she resided for the past two and a half years, and the caring staff at Crossroads Hospice and Palliative Care.

The Wolfgang family has entrusted their loved one to the care of the Wasko Funeral Home and will receive family and friends Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 4-7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.  Funeral services will be held Thursday, March 5th at 9:30 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Campbell.  Rita will be laid to rest at St. John the Baptist Cemetery in Coitsville.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Spastic Paraplegia Foundation (Primary Lateral Sclerosis) in Rita’s memory at sp-foundation.org.

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