Obituary of Rita J. Dunphy

Rita Josephine Dunphy passed away peacefully at her residence, Saint John West, NB on Sunday evening, October 14, 2007 following a courageous battle with cancer. Born in Saint John, Rita was a daughter of the late William and Josephine (Smith) Fisher. Blessed with a cheerful disposition, she was a devoted wife and mother. She will be remembered for her welcoming and hospitable nature and her lively sense of humour. She and her husband, H. Michael Dunphy, would have marked their 54th. wedding anniversary later this year. A long-time parishioner of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in West Saint John, she held membership in the Catholic Women’s League, the former Assumption Women’s Society and the Irish-Canadian Cultural Association. With her husband she was among the pioneering members of the former Christian Family Movement. A graduate of St. Vincent’s Girls’ High School, she later took business courses at the Saint John Community College to assist her husband in his accounting and taxation proctice. Prior to her marriage she had been employed at Battery and Electric and at C.A. Munro Ltd. Besides her husband, H. Michael Dunphy, she is survived by two sons, Mark (Carol), Vancouver, BC; Kevin (Liana), Halifax, NS; three daughters, Colleen Holliday (John), Australia; Carolyn MacKenney (Kevin), Hampton; Mary Jane Reiners (Jim), Vancouver, BC; two brothers, Paul Fisher, Kamloops, BC and William Fisher, Etobicoke, ON; three sisters, Eleanor Northway (George), Rockville, Maryland; Joan Shippel (Warren), Lindsay, ON and Marie Poole, Saint John; and six grandchildren, Ryan, Kayla, Michael, Erin, Katelyn and Connor. She was predeceased by a son, John William; three sisters, Kay Atherton, Jean Fisher and Bernice Evans, and two brothers, Bernard and Edward Fisher. Resting at Brenans Select Community Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (506-634-7424) where visiting will take place on Tuesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Dufferin Row, Saint John West on Wednesday at 12:00 Noon. Interment will take place in St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Remembrances may be made to the Whelan Family Pharmacy Award, Hospice Greater Saint John (Dufferin Row), Canadian Cancer Society, or Romero House Soup Kitchen.