Rita May Fenton

Rita May (Huether) Fenton was born in Fargo, ND on February 22, 1950. She attended LeTourneau University in Texas, where she met her future husband, Dennis Fenton. After marrying, they moved to New Philadelphia, OH, where they lived and raised their family for almost five decades.

As a mother, Rita liked adventure and travel and made days fun for her children. She took them on hikes and bike rides and to the park to feed the ducks. Together, they played dressup and had picnics with friends, went shopping to get ready for school, and spent time playing outside. They sat in the front window and watched storms pass and in the winter, they built snowmen together. She and Denny took the children on yearly trips to the beach, which was the highlight of the summer. When her children became adults, she would drive to where they lived and surprise them with gifts and special dinners.  

She was deeply involved in her children’s classrooms, going on field trips, and championing their learning and education. For many years, she volunteered and taught Sunday school at church. She loved her garden and being outdoors.

Rita was a grandmother who made the lives of her three grandsons magical, showering them with love and affirmation and blessing them with a generosity and thoughtfulness that brought them joy and delight.

Rita loved entertaining, planning parties, and spending time with friends. She and Denny had date night every Friday. 

She was preceded in death by her husband Dennis Fenton and is survived by her three children Stephanie (Ammon) Perry, Wendy (Larry) Danner and Tyson (Christen) Fenton, three grandchildren Isaiah, Ethan, and Liam, her father-in-law Dale Fenton, her siblings Gary (Elaine) Huether, Karen (Wendell) Strasser, Eldon (Barb) Huether, Kathy (Pat) Hay, Bonita Olson and Randy (Emily) Huether.

In keeping with her wishes, cremation care is to be provided by the Linn-Hert-Geib Funeral Home at New Philadelphia and a gathering of family and friends to celebrate Rita’s life, will be at a future date.