Rita Buchanan

Rita W. Buchanan nee Whearty passed away on March 31, 2009 at the age of 89. She was the beloved wife of Stuart Buchanan, who preceeded her in death in 1974. She was also the loving mother of Alexandra "Sandy" Buchanan William A. Whitney of Cleveland, OH and William Stuart Buchanan Maureen Ruder of Evanston, IL. Rita was a grandmother to Thomas and Robert Whitney and Nolan, Aaron and Kyle Buchanan. She was also the sister of Rosemary Lee Mrs. Richard of Indianapolis, IN and the late Dorothy Herget Mrs. Louis. Rita was born in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from St. Joseph Academy and Notre Dame College of S. Euclid, Ohio in 1941 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the early forties she worked as an advertising copywriter at The McCann Erickson Company. In 1951, Rita moved to New York City to work as the Director of American Press Relations for Radio Free Europe. She was in that position for three and a half years before she married Stuart Buchanan an returned to live in Cleveland in 1954. Rita became a free lance writer and copywriter for the Higbee Company, The Merchandising Group TMG and was on the staff of the Cleveland Play House from 1976-l986. She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Cleveland Public Library since 1987, and has been on the board of The Cleveland Play House Women's Committee She has also been a member of the Cleveland Museum of Art Women's Council, The Cleveland Print Club, Dunham Tavern, The University Print Club and Continuing Education of Case Western Reserve University, CWRU. Rita traveled extensively, attending classes in Sheffield, England and in Paris, France. Her appreciation of art led her to be the Director of The Cleveland Play House Art Gallery from 1990-2001. In 1979, Rita moved into The Moreland Courts of Cleveland and lived there until she moved to St. Mary of the Woods in Avon, Ohio in 2006. The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in her name to Notre Dame College, 4545 College Rd., South Euclid, OH 44121 or St. Joseph Academy, 3430 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland, OH 44111. Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady of Peace Church, East 126th St. and Shaker Blvd.,Two blocks West of Shaker Square Cleveland, Ohio, this Saturday at 11am. Friends may call at Brown-Forward Funeral Home, 17022 Chagrin Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH on Friday from 5 - 7pm.


PDF Printable Version