Obituary
Rita Jean Hassell (74) of Belton, Missouri passed from this earth into the loving arms of Jesus on November 26, 2020.
Rita was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up in Indiana and graduated from Arlington High School in 1965. She then attended Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri where she pursued studies in world missions. Rita eventually made Kansas City, Missouri her forever home where she raised her children as a single mom and retired from Sprint Corporation. Some of her favorite things were vacationing in Branson, watching romantic comedies, and cooking. Most of all, she loved the Lord and spent much of her time participating in church activities and reading her bible.
Rita was preceded in death by her father, George Robert Sizemore, mother, Thelma Louis Sizemore, and her brother, Dennis Sizemore. Rita will be lovingly remembered by her daughter and son-in-law, Robyn and Sean Brumble; son and daughter-in-law, Scott Hassell and Margot Grant; daughter and son-in-law, Holly and Larry Cohron; and grandchildren, Tyler and Meredith Brumble, Sage Brumble, Cooper Killian, as well as Kiptyn and Axyl Cohron.
An outdoor service will be held Tuesday, December 1st at 1:00 p.m. at Abundant Life Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri followed by a private graveside service at Floral Hills East Memorial Gardens in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Everyone in attendance is asked to follow the Jackson County Health Department mandate to socially distance and wear a mask. No exceptions please.
Donations in Rita’s honor can be made to either the Abundant Life Food Pantry in Lee’s Summit Missouri, or Habitat for Humanity.
The family wishes to sincerely thank all the staff on the COVID unit at St. Joseph Medical Center. The care and compassion provided to our beloved Mom (and Memaw) during her last moments here on earth are appreciated more than you will ever know.
So sorry to hear of your mother’s passing. Just know that she is in a better place and all these tears are for us.
My heart hurts for all of you. Rita was a special lady and a good friend.
May the Lord hold you close and give you comfort beyond your understanding.
Robin,
Our hearts go out to you and your family. I pray in the coming days and months ahead you will find peace and comfort from our Lord. It’s never easy saying good-bye to a parent, but we rejoice with you that she knew her Creator and will forever be in His presence, completely healed and full of JOY!
Love,
Brian and Gina Rookstool
Love you mom. You always sacrificed so much to make your children happy growing up. I will never forget how hard you worked to give us what you could. We love you and you will never be forgotten. May God be with you till we meet again. ❤️ Your baby girl.
We are so sorry about the loss of your mother/grandmother. It is such a comfort to know you will see her again someday soon in Heaven! Love you!
I can’t believe the day has come Mom. The day we lay you to rest. It seems like a nightmare that I’m stuck in and can’t wake up from. So many regrets. So many things I wish I could have said to you.
I hope you love your beautiful pearly pink casket, your hair and makeup, and the pretty pink dress we bought you for today. The flowers for your ceremony look like they were made for a princess. Thank you for providing us with a beautiful, sunny 50 degree day at the beginning of December so we can have your funeral outside. I believe you spoke to God and He alone provided us with this gift.
You and I, your firstborn tenacious child, we were always like fire and gasoline together. But no matter how much we irritated one another, we always said I love you at the end of every conversation. And I’m thankful those were the last words you heard from me.
You were always so proud of my violin playing, and I’m thankful I got to play you some hymns over FaceTime in your final hour. When I asked if you wanted me to stop as you were struggling for air, you clearly mumbled NO! I can’t muster up the strength to play at the funeral today, but I hope you know every time I play from this point on, I’ll be thinking of you and all you sacrificed to provide me with the best training possible growing up.
I know you were proud of me being a nurse, and you were so excited when I told you about my new job helping cancer patients a couple of weeks ago. I keep trying to remember every conversation and word you said over FaceTime this past month. The things that stick out are that when you could taste things again, you wanted a sausage-egg-and cheese biscuit from McDonalds, some hot chocolate, and a beer. But not necessarily all of those the together! (LOL-I never remember my mom drinking a beer in my whole life). So today, I’m going to put all of those items in your casket before we close it for the last time. Along with your mom’s Bible of course, since that was your favorite possession.
Thanks for taking us to church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night. That’s one of the last things you asked me too, was if I was still going to church? Yes mom. You successfully instilled that in me. I will always have a love for Christ. Thank you for that.
Thank you for always doing the best you could as a single mom. We had it tough, but we made it through. I pray you are up there in heaven full of joy as you were reunited with Mammie, Aunt Jo, and PaPa. Say hello to Grandma and Grandpa Hassell too. Give them all a huge hug from me and tell them I love them so much. My only source of joy and hope right now is that because I have a personal relationship with the Lord, I know without a single doubt that we will see each other again soon in that beautiful place we call glory. Where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain, no more regrets, no more tears. Until that day, please know I love you very much and I’ll keep trying to make you proud for the rest of my days.
Rest In Peace beautiful MaMa. ?
Robyn,
Please accept my deepest sympathy for you and your family. My thoughts are with you.
Sandy
I have so many fond memories of her…
She was a great person lol
Oh well