Rita Sereno

1932 - 2014

SERENO, Rita
Rita Bianucci Sereno was born September 30, 1932 in Aurora, Illinois. She grew up in Naperville, Illinois with her parents Modesto and Clorenda, her older brother Ray, her older sister Doris, and her identical twin Rena. She graduated from St. Mary's of Notre Dame in 1954 with a bachelors degree in Mathematics and a minor in Education. In 1954 she moved to California where she worked at San Marino High School as a mathematics and English teacher. In 1955 she married Alfred Walter Sereno. She raised six children and worked hard as a loving mother and wife. After her divorce, she began her twenty-one year career as a second grade school teacher at Wild Rose Elementary School. Rita excelled in her job as she was a natural performer as well as efficient and creative. She met the love of her life Robert Joseph Cartwright in 1975. Cartwright and Rita shared thirty years of laughter and love. They were inseparable, travelling, working at "The Hill", and enjoying all the grand children. The loss of Cartwright in 2004 was a difficult time for Rita. The last few years of her life she spent quietly at home surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Rita is survived by her five children, David, Michael, Linda, Dan and Lisa; her seven grandchildren, Daisy, Nicole, Amy, Trevor, Matthew, Holly and Kate; and her two great grandchildren Dean and James. Rita is predeceased by her son Brian, whom she lost in 1981.
Rita's funeral mass will be held Friday, April 25, 2014 at 10:00 AM at Immaculate Conception Church followed by interment at Live Oak Memorial Park.