Rita V. Okerholm, 74, of Palm City, FL, earned her wings on December 26, 2017 at the Hospice Austin, Christopher House, Austin, TX.

Born in Arlington, MA, she had been a resident of Palm City for 17 years coming from West Chester, OH and prior to that Ann Arbor, MI.

She received an Associates degree from LaSalle Jr College (Retail), Bachelors Degree from Boston University (Elementary Education), and a Master of Education (Reading) from Boston State College.

Rita was a loving and dedicated teacher to more than 1,200 children in her 34 years of teaching, most of whom remember her for her dedication and kindness. They give her immense credit for positively shaping them to this day.

She was a member of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Palm City, a 50 year member Beta Sigma Phi and an avid Golfer at the Monarch Country Club in Palm City.

She will be greatly missed by her daughter, Heidi Okerholm Ovalle and her husband Manny of West Palm Beach, FL; her son, Erik P. Okerholm and his wife April of Austin, TX; her grandchildren Christian and Sydney Okerholm and her bonus granddaughters Emily, Adaline and Melanie of Austin; her sisters Virginia Hutchinson and Kathy Thompson and brother in laws Edward Thompson and Paul Okerholm; many nieces and nephews, countless friends and her sweet pet, Merlot. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Richard Okerholm; her parents, Bernard and Margaret Hutchinson, and her infant sister, Bernadette Margaret.

A Memorial Mass honoring and remembering her will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.

For those who wish, contributions may be made to the Hospice Austin Christopher House, 2820 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Austin, TX 78702, or at 512-322-0747 or online at www.hospiceaustin.org .

The family would like to offer their sincerest gratitude to Doctors Nanda Vrindavanam and Binh Pham for their expertise and kindness in prolonging Rita's life so we could love her longer.