Rita M. Blackwell

"May the work I've done speak for me..." Rita M. Blackwell, 56, of Harrisburg, passed peacefully on August 31, 2010 at Harrisburg Hospital. She was employed by the Commonwealth, Department of Labor and Industry, as a Manager of UC Benefits. Rita was a member of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church; including several ministries; Women's, Dreams and Vision, Kitchen for Sunday School Breakfast, Children's Nursery and Home Based Bible; she attended Bible Study and was the Sunday School Superintendent. She also loved reading and spending time with her grandchildren. Rita is preceded in death by her parents Robert Lee and Ora Bell Blackwell, siblings Zimmie Lee Murry-Banks, Robert Lee Blackwell, Jr. and Freddie A. Blackwell. She is survived by 2 children Steven Blackwell and JoAnn Thomas of Harrisburg, siblings John (Della) Murry, Norman (Charlotte) Murry, Kenneth (Cheri) Blackwell, Dorothy (Robert) King, and Ora Lee Blackwell, 8 grandchildren and a host of other relatives and friends. Services will be held at her church, 1201 North 17th Street, Harrisburg on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 11:00 a.m., viewing at 10:00 a.m. with burial in Paxtang Cemetery.