Published in The Hartford Courant (Hartford, CT) - Friday, Nov. 16, 2012

Obit – Rita M. (McGowan) Wood – dau of Richard & Lucy (Buckley) McGowan

Rita M. (McGowan) Wood, 90, of South Windsor, formerly of East Hartford, died November 15, 2012, with her children by her side. She was born in Hartford, a daughter of the late Richard and Lucy (Buckley) McGowan.

Rita was a communicant of St. Mary’s Church in East Hartford, for most of her life. She began her career as a Service Representative at SNET and retired from Bank of America.

She was predeceased by her husband William E. Wood, Jr., in 2004. She is survived by her daughter, Tish O’Brien, and her husband Bill of South Windsor, and her son Rick Wood of Manchester; she also leaves five grandchildren Brian, Kyle, and Cory Wood and Kevin and Meghan O’Brien; two great-grandchildren Kylah and Kinsley Wood; her niece Kathleen Pontes and her husband Dennis; and her cousin Jack Little.

An eternal optimist, Rita lived a full life with a passion for reading and a razor-sharp memory.

Funeral services will be Monday at 9 AM from the Benjamin J. Callahan Funeral Home, 318 Burnside Ave., East Hartford, followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Francis of Assisi Church, 673 Ellington Rd. in South Windsor. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery in East Hartford. Visiting hours are Sunday from 3-6 p.m. For more information to order flowers or to leave an online condolence, please visit www.callahanfuneral,cin,