Rita Carey

Rita Kathleen Carey VIRGINIA BEACH - Rita Kathleen Carey (nee Collins), 54, passed away peacefully at home Saturday, May 29, 2010. Rita was predeceased by her parents, Jack and Mary Collins and her adopted father, Wiley Price Jr. She will be greatly missed by her beloved husband of 30 years, James Carey Jr. and their children, James Cornelius, U.S. Army officer presently stationed in Iraq, Sean Patrick, civil engineer of Arlington, Va., and Maria Elizabeth, registered nurse of Virginia Beach; her much loved grandson, Noah; her brother, Jack Collins and his wife Barbara of Stonewall, Miss.; numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews also survive her. Rita was born and raised in Mississippi and moved to Virginia Beach in 1984 after having lived in Japan for three years while her husband was stationed there as a U.S. Naval officer. Rita was a passionate educator serving as a teacher and teacher specialist in the field of special education for the Norfolk Public School System. She was devoted to all of the special students who were entrusted to her care and treated each of them as her own. Rita was also a master gardener and was beginning to develop a strong interest in birdwatching carefully observing the many beautiful specimens that were attracted to her garden. A Mass of Christian burial will be conducted at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 5, at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, 1968 Sandbridge Road, Virginia Beach. The family will receive friends at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Laskin Road Chapel, today from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Online condolences may be made to the family at hdoliver.com. Donations in Rita's memory may be sent to Special Olympics Virginia or American Red Cross.