Rita Rose Dooley

Rita died peacefully in the home she lived in for more than 58 years in Prairie Village, Kansas surrounded by family and friends.

Rita was born in Horton, Kansas, the second child of Anthony (Tony) LaCapra and Louise Frances Trompeter.

When her mother died of TB in 1935, she and her older brother and younger sister were raised with maternal relatives on a farm in Mercier, Kansas.

Rita was a tomboy but loved to read. She graduated Mt. St. Scholastica Academy and attended two years of college before entering nurses' training at St Francis Hospital in Wichita. Upon graduation she worked at Horton Hospital while caring for here beloved aunt Rose who had raised her.

In 1953 she met Bill Dooley at the wedding of his brother and her cousin. They were married four months later and remained married for almost 68 years.

Rita worked as a nurse in a variety of settings while raising five children.

Rita filled her home with books and her favorite volunteer job after retirement was sorting books for the Friends of the Johnson County Library. She was an excellent hand-quilter and spent many hours with her St Ann's friends making quilts for charity.

Rita opened her home to many children during her life, including guest students from Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Germany, and Japan. She corresponded for more than 10 years with a young man in Ecuador she sponsored through Unbound.

She re-entered college to study classics and graduated the same year as her son Bill.

Rita's desire to travel was deep. She visited five continents, and met many of the families of her foreign exchange guests.

Her deep Catholic faith and devotion sustained her until the end of her life.

Rita's husband Bill and brother Vince LaCapra predeceased her. She is survived by children Barbara Dooley, Mary (Phil) Brenner, Patty (Ken) Green, Bill Dooley, Tim Dooley; two grandchildren, Abigail Brenner and Sarah Dooley; her sister, Sr. Margaret Ann LaCapra; numerous nephews and nieces; and hundreds of friends.

A joint funeral mass will be held for her and Bill at St. Ann in Prairie Village on September 3rd, followed by burial September 4th at St. Louis Cemetery in Atchison.