Rita L. Stead

RITA CLIFTON LIPPINCOTT STEAD, a long-time resident of Vienna, Virginia, passed away
peacefully at home with family on May 5, 2024 at the age of 97. A beloved wife, mother,
grandmother, and great-grandmother, Rita gave love to her family until the very end.
Born in 1927 in Baltimore, Maryland to Judith and Louis Clifton, Rita was the sixth of seven
children. After graduating from Seton High School in 1945, Rita studied at Mount Saint Agnes
College for two years, while also performing as a ballerina with the Estelle Dennis Dance
Theater in Baltimore. In 1948, she married her first husband, Dr. Ellis R. Lippincott Jr., a
university chemistry professor who became a world-renowned spectroscopist and director of the
University of Maryland's Center for Materials Research.
Rita had five daughters with Dr. Lippincott, and they lived in Connecticut, Kansas, and Maryland
before settling in the then rural outskirts of Vienna, Virginia in 1964. They kept horses and Rita
became proficient at managing a large property and her daughters' equestrian activities.
After Dr. Lippincott died in 1974, Rita married her second husband, Dr. Ronald Stead, in 1978.
Dr. Stead was the former dean of students at Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania
before joining the American Association of Colleges in Washington, D.C. He later founded the
non-profit Academic Search Service specializing in assisting colleges and universities searching
for presidents. He also served as a trustee of Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Rita loved classic and modern literature and was an avid reader. A connoisseur of fine art,
antiques, and architecture, she traveled the world exploring museums, visiting historic sites,
perusing galleries, and collecting antiques. She visited Europe numerous times. One of her first
trips there was as a ballerina in a dance troupe touring with the All-American Chorus.
An athletic person, while not tending to the needs of her family, Rita channeled much of her
energy into tennis, where she was a competitive player at Westwood Country Club in Vienna for
decades. She took up golf in her later years, and especially enjoyed playing with her grandsons
all the way into her 90s.
Rita was an astute bridge player and legendary champion in Trivial Pursuit. She maintained
many friendships through her bridge club, mahjong group, and garden club. She was a longtime
member of the Ayr Hill Garden Club, and she and Dr. Stead kept a flourishing vegetable garden
at home.
Rita and Dr. Stead enjoyed summer vacations at his rustic cabin at Battle Point on Lake Duborne
in Blind River, Ontario, Canada, where they hosted family for swimming, boating, water skiing,
jumping off rocks, hiking to the top of "Fire Tower" mountain, and the community "Sing". A
mahjong enthusiast, Rita is credited with having "brought mahjong to Battle Point." She loved
nothing more than being surrounded by family and watching her grandchildren and great
grandchildren at sport and play. In later years, she and her husband enjoyed a month of leisure
every February in Naples, Florida.
For a time in the 1970s, Rita worked part-time as an editorial assistant to the managing editor of
the scientific journal Applied Optics. During the Clinton presidency, she served as a volunteer
assistant to first lady Hillary Clinton through the League of Women Voters, of which she
remained an active member for many years.
Rita is survived by her loving husband of 46 years, her five daughters (Melanie Lippincott Fein,
Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Wendy Lippincott, Robin Brigham, and Holly Lippincott Vedova),
and two stepsons (Douglas P. Stead and Gary F. Stead). Also surviving are her ten grandchildren,
six great grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and two step-great grandchildren. She is also
survived by a brother, Charles Clifton, 98, of Cockeysville, Maryland, and more than three dozen
nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her first husband, the late Ellis R. Lippincott Jr.,
and her granddaughter, Hillary Josephine Fein.
A private burial service will be held at Andrew Chapel Cemetery in Vienna.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to a charity of the donor's choice.