Rita Jean SENKLER

1925 - 2017

SENKLER, Rita Jean

Rita Jean Senkler, 91, passed away on Tuesday, January 17 2017. Born on a very hot night, at nearly midnight on July 3, 1925 in Sandpoint, Idaho, Rita was fond of saying the whole country celebrated her birth on the Fourth. Rita was the fifth child born to Edward Aloysius and LaMina Eva "Minnie" (Marquis) Martin. During the Depression years, Rita, her mother and two sisters lived in different cities including Madison, Wisconsin and Los Angeles before returning to Spokane where they were finally able to live together in a one-bedroom apartment on West Riverside until the girls each married. Rita worked at Hart and Dilatush Pharmacy and Spokane and Eastern Bank following high-school. Rita was a parishioner at Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes and met Howard Senkler during a Sodality meeting. They were married May 28, 1949 and moved to Hartline, Washington. Rita and Howard had three children, James, Kathleen and Mary Beth. The family moved to Charlo, Montana in 1965 where Howard raised registered Black Angus cattle until he retired in 1977.
Rita is survived by her children Jim, and his wife Linda Bowman, and Kathy, plus nieces and nephews. Her daughter, Mary Beth, her sisters Dorothy and Lois, and husband, Howard, preceded her in death.
In lieu of flowers, please remember Rita with a memorial gift to The Nest in St. Ignatius or to the Ninepipes Museum of Early Montana in Charlo. The funeral mass is at 11 a.m. Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Charlo with the interment of ashes at Holy Cross Cemetery in Spokane being held in the spring.