If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre, 41160 Retreat Road, Cochrane, AB T4C 1Z6, Telephone: (403) 932-2012, http://www.mountstfrancis.ca/. Rita was a devout Catholic whose early education in her birthplace of Chieuti, Italy was at a convent where she learned the fine art of embroidery and sewing.