Rita Ward, 89, of Cape Girardeau died Monday, Oct. 13, 2003, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau.

She was born Jan. 15, 1914, in Hayti, Mo. She and Robert L. Ward Jr. were married in 1938. He died in 1976. They resided in Caruthers-ville and McCarty, Mo.

Rita continued to live in Caruthersville until 1987, when she moved to Chateau Girardeau in Cape Girardeau.

Mrs. Ward was a member of Eastwood Memorial Methodist Church and later Centenary United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau. Rita was a member of PEO.

She was initiated into Chapter DM Jan. 10, 1955, and later into Chapter FY in Cape Girardeau.

Rita served on the board of directors of First State Bank of Caruthersville from 1978 to 1984. She was the first female to serve on the board.

Survivors include a son, Robert L. Ward III of Cape Girardeau; a daughter, Kathryn Elizabeth Ward of Caruthersville; three granddaughters, Michelle Alvey of Kirkwood, Mo., Carlye Wannenmacher of Springfield, Mo., Ragan Ward of Fort Collins, Colo.; two great-grandsons, Phillip and Jacob Wannenmacher of Springfield.

Friends may call at H.S. Smith Funeral Home in Caruthersville at 2 p.m. Saturday.

A graveside service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Little Prairie Cemetery in Caruthersville.

Ford and Sons Funeral Home is in charge of local arrangements.