Rita Marie Darrah

“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.”

"If there ever comes a day where we can’t be together, keep me in your heart. I’ll stay there forever.”
– Winnie the Pooh

With great sorrow and bittersweet gratitude, after a long life well lived, the Darrah family announce the passing of our kind, sweet, brave, caring and unimaginably generous wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Rita Marie Darrah (Bourque), at the formidable age of 98.

Rita will be forever remembered by her children Shawn, Joanne (Pitt), Debbie, Darlene (Elliott), Kevin, Julie (Brooks) and Christine, her 12 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, brothers, sisters, and so many other relatives and friends.

Born in Kapuskasing, Ontario on February 26, 1925 and raised in Rogersville, NB, Rita was the eldest of 17 and is predeceased by her parents, first husband Roy Campbell, son Larry and her beloved Joe, husband of 57 years.

Rita's early life prepared her for motherhood, minding her siblings from a young age, and occasionally taking on additional chores, such as hunting and  trapping, berry picking, weeding the vegetable garden and even beer tasting. It also educated her in the art of stretching a dollar and making use of whatever was at hand. We never wanted for anything under her watch, and she always got her fill by cleaning our plates if we did not.

Happy taking care of others, her 40 years as a waitress gained her lifelong friendships, and the Riviera, the White House Lodge and the Reversing Falls restaurants were second homes to her for decades. Oh the stories she would tell!! Simple pleasures like gardening, playing crib and reading french novels would bring her joy. She was quick with a smile and enjoyed a good laugh, which served her well raising 7 kids. Always thrifty, not a morsel would go to waste...mom, did you really eat that!!! A glass of wine in hand, weekends would find her on Joe's arm, dancing up a storm at the 69 Legion. Anyone who knows the family will remember the open door and hospitality always present on Molson Avenue. On Sunday mornings she celebrated her faith at Assumption Church, family in tow, and later with friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Lung Association.

The family would like to extend gratitude and thanks to the staff at Chateau de Champlain, the staff on 5C North at the Saint John Regional, as well as the staff in the Veterans Wing at Ridgewood, who saw her gracefully from this world.

Goodbye momma, until we meet again.

Final viewing for family will take place at Fundy Funeral Home on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. followed with a procession to Our Lady of Assumption Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 12:00 p.m. Interment will follow in Ocean View Memorial Gardens with a reception to follow in the Fundy Funeral Home Reception Centre.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rita Marie Darrah, please visit our floral store.