Rita G. (Castro) Houppert

Rita G. Castro Houppert, 92, of 250 Bellew Avenue, Watertown and a winter resident of Terra Ceia Manor in Palmetto, Florida, passed away on June 4, 2018 at her home.

Calling hours will be Friday, June 8 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Hart & Bruce Funeral Home, 117 N. Massey St., Watertown,

There will be a prayer service Saturday, June 9 at 10:15 a.m. at the funeral home, followed by an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Anthony’s Church with Msgr. Robert H. Aucoin officiating. Burial will follow in Glenwood Cemetery.

Born March 23, 1926, in Watertown, the third of eight children of Nelson Castro and Rose Coniglio Castro, Rita attended Watertown schools.On August 18, 1946 at St. Anthony’s Church, Monsignor Claude F. Sechi officiated at her marriage to Gerald E. Houppert, a WW II Navy veteran who served with Combat Aircraft Service Unit 44 on the Island of Tinian in the Pacific.

Mrs. Houppert was a certified Electrologist and conducted a successful practice from her home office for many years until she retired.

It was important to her to be a stay-at-home mom to care for her three   children and, together with her husband, encouraged all of her children to complete their college degrees. After their children were grown, she and Mr. Houppert cared for foster children for several years. She enjoyed family summers at their Lake Ontario cottages, and all family gatherings-especially with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was a member of the VFW Women’s Auxiliary. She also loved to cook, collect dolls, read the daily newspaper, play cards, do word puzzles, pick apples from her backyard apple tree, and watch old movies. TV also enabled her to participate in Mass and the rosary as she became less mobile.

Surviving Mrs. Houppert are her daughter and son in law, Karen Houppert Hazleton (Samuel), Diamond Point, NY; and two sons and a daughter in law, Gerald E. Houppert Jr., Dexter, NY, and Christopher Houppert (Lorraine), Missoula, MT.;  two sisters, Gloria Castro Schweinsberg, and Ann Castro Aubin; six grandchildren; twenty-one great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.   

Mrs. Houppert was predeceased by her loving husband, Gerald E. Houppert on March 4, 2008, three sisters, Caroline Castro DiMinico, Marie Castro Symonds, and Shirley Castro Olson; two brothers, Joseph Castro and Neil Castro; and one grandchild.

Online condolences may be made at www.hartandbrucefh.com

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