Rita attended St. Patrick-s Catholic school and graduated with the Class of 1952, from Minonk-Dana High School.

In 1952, the family moved to Inglewood, California. Rita returned to marry Richard E. Salvati in St. Anthony-s Church, Streator, Illinois, in 1953. Rita was employed by Owens Illinois Glass, while Richard served in the U. S. Army. After his tour of duty, the couple returned to California. Rita was employed at Occidental Life Insurance Company and The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company, and Richard owned a transmission shop. They have one daughter, Laurie Anne Walker (Mrs. Lawrence E.), and one grandson, Lucas Elliot Walker, of San Jose, California.

Rita and Richard divorced, and she moved to the Villages Golf and Country Club, in San Jose, California, in 1991. Rita was a member of The Villagers Alliance for many years. When the founder of the Alliance was finding it difficult to produce the newsletter, Rita stepped in and did much of the research and writing for him. When he moved from the Villages, she became the new editor until a family emergency made it necessary for her to resign. She had a passion for bowling and was turning in very respectable scores. She was a talented artist, and she often shared the tranquility of her piano music with the surrounding villas. She was a patient and artistic cross-stitch aficionado, and she mastered the use of the computer and programming the VCR. She was a loving and loyal family member and friend, and she worked tirelessly to restore the health of her grandson, Lucas, after he was the victim of an automobile accident.