Rita Agnes (Evans) Wasserlein, born on December 18, 1947, in Brattleboro, VT, passed away peacefully on July 13, 2025, in Great Barrington, MA. Rita was the beloved daughter of the late John and Agnes (Rawson) Evans and is predeceased by her elder  siblings, John Jr. Evans and Alice Magoon.  

Rita grew up in Dummerston, VT, the second youngest of 7 children. She spent most of her time playing with her younger bother, Roger. They would ride on a tricycle in pajamas. One day their father came across a baby deer who had lost it’s mother. He  brought it home as a pet. Rita named it Bambi. 

The eldest daughters, Alice and Barbara, helped look after Rita. Barbara watched her and Roger when the family went boating, and Alice loved to make Rita beautiful clothing. Rita was the flower girl in Barbara’s wedding. When Rita was in high school and her older siblings started having children, Rita became known as the “cool aunt”.  She would take her nieces and nephews for ice cream and rides in her green Mustang. 

Rita excelled at school. She won $5 for having the highest grades in her eighth grade class. She attended Brattleboro Memorial High School where she participated in numerous activities including the French Club, Dramatics Club, Pep Club, and Dance. She also served as Treasurer and Vice-President. Rita graduated from high school with honors in 1965 and went on to study biology at the University of Vermont. She was interested in medicine, but decided to pursue a family instead when she met John Wasserlein. 

At age 25, Rita married John Henry Wasserlein in the Dummerston Congregational Church. John managed a local paper mill for Boise Cascade. They combined a business trip and a honeymoon in Mexico City, where Rita hiked the Aztec pyramids in high heels (Rita had style!).  She was a loving step-mother to John Jr Wasserlein.  Rita gave birth to her first daughter, Heather, in 1974, and her second daughter, Deborah, in 1978. 

Rita and John were avid bicyclists, travelers and gardeners, and they were active in the community and politics. They bicycled around Nova Scotia and across France. Rita joked that Heather was almost born on a bicycle. Rita hosted dinner parties for Vermont politicians and helped John with his electoral college responsibilities. Both attended the inauguration of President Reagan. She and John cultivated a large vegetable garden and a variety of fruit trees. They maintained an 80-acre property on Black Mountain, not far from a one-lane covered bridge and a Peace Corps training school in Brattleboro, VT. In Rita’s spare time, she enjoyed writing and maintaining a vibrant flower garden. 

When Boise Cascade promoted John, the family moved to Portland, Oregon. Initially when Rita told the family she was moving to Portland, everyone assumed she meant Portland, Maine. The cross country move was at first an exciting adventure, but the uprooting and long distance from family was a strain and Rita moved back to Dummerston three years later where she helped care for her mother, Agnes. 

Rita was a lifelong caregiver, beginning her vocation at a young age working as a part time caregiver to pay her way through college and later while caring for her mother, who was unable to walk due to polio. This devotion extended to her sister, Alice, and brother-in-law, David Magoon, reflecting her kind and caring nature. Rita relocated to Holyoke, MA to care for Alice and Dave, and she remained there for over 15 years. 

In her later years, Rita enjoyed socializing with her neighbors in the Hamden Senior Community. When she started to lose her memory, she moved in with an exceptional caregiver, Kim Kelly. Rita quickly became a part of the family, a favorite of baby Asher, not to mention the dogs, Scruffy and Chloe. When Rita’s health declined, she moved to the Fairview Commons Nursing Home in Great Barrington, MA. Rita expressed constant appreciation for the care she received from nurses and volunteers there, a reflection of her deep gratitude for those who touched her life. She always had a ready smile, giggle, and a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. 

Rita is survived by her two beloved daughters, Heather and Deborah Wasserlein, as well as her dear sister, Barbara Johnson, and brothers Stanley, Gordon, and Roger Evans.  

Services will be held at the Dummerston Center Cemetery on July 18, 2025. Her memory will forever be cherished by her family and friends, who will carry her kind heart and adventurous spirit with them forever.