Sister M. Rita Louise Altman, SNJM

Margaret Altman

November 26, 1919–July 16, 2011 (Spokane, WA)

Margaret Altman was born November 26, 1919 in Spokane, Washington. She was the eldest of four children born to George and Catherine Claver Altman. They were members of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Spokane throughout her growing-up years, so she graduated from the parish elementary school, ands from Holy Names Academy. Her childhood and youth activities were centered in parish and school life, including Sodality, CYO, theater, and delivering the parish envelopes.

Having decided early in her life to be a religious Sister, she entered the Sisters of the Holy Names in 1937, pronouncing her vows in 1939 as Sr. M. Rita Louise. She continued her education at Marylhurst College, earning a degree in music. She later earned a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Oregon.  She taught classroom music and private piano lessons from 1939 to 1980 in grade schools in Washington and Oregon. She was a masterful, creative teacher, skilled at keeping a room full of students involved. She had spent two years caring for the Sisters, and her mother, in the Care Center of her community, and returned to that ministry from 1980 to 1985.

In 1985, Sr. Rita Louise responded to a request from the Foreign Mission Society to come to Sendai, Japan, to teach English in their center, and spent two very precious years there. She found deep resonance with Japanese culture. She returned to be of service to her community in 1987, planning liturgies and playing music for worship, sewing, doing delightful craft work and using her photographic skills to make pictorial greeting cards. Failing health forced retirement from those activities about two years ago, and she has been a grateful and gracious member of the Care Center since. She continued to enjoy reading, watching the news, participating in religious practices and appreciating any musical presentation provided. If the performers were children, she would always thank the parents!

Along with her grateful heart, her Sisters will treasure memories of her sense of humor, her lighthearted but serious spirituality, her sense of responsibility, her intuition in choosing music, her quick and clever wit, her eagerness for heaven!

Sr. Rita Louise died July 16, 2011, in Spokane, Washington. In addition to her parents, her sister, Sr. Dorothy Altman, SNJM, her brother Rev. Stanislaus (John) Altman, OFM, and her brother Richard awaited her celestial arrival.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Names Retirement Fund, 2911 West Fort Wright Drive, Spokane, WA  99224.

Funeral Mass was held Wednesday, July 20, at Convent of the Holy Names, 2911 W Fort Wright Drive, Spokane.