A private Funeral Liturgy for Sister Rita Bozel, D.C., was celebrated April 14, 2020, at the Daughters of Charity Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Burial followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Emmitsburg. Sister Rita died April 7, 2020, at Villa St. Michael. She was 92 years of age and 74 years vocation as a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 9, 1927, Sister Rita (baptized Rita Ann) was the daughter of Richard William and Josephine Victoria (Albert) Bozel. Sister graduated from Seton High School in Baltimore in 1945 and entered the Daughters of Charity from St. Dominic Church in Baltimore in December 1945. Sister Rita earned her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1963 from St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg; she earned her Master of Science Degree in Mathematics in 1970 from the University of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan.
Following initial formation, Sister Rita began her many years of service in education as an Elementary Teacher at St. Ambrose School, Endicott, New York (1947 to 1956); and as an Elementary and Middle School Teacher at Our Lady of Victory Elementary School in Portsmouth, Maryland (1956 to 1959) and St. Joseph School in Petersburg, Virginia (1959 to 1962). After completing her studies in Emmitsburg (1962 to 1963), Sister Rita was missioned to Baltimore where she served as a Math Teacher at Seton High School (1963 to 1968); then, she was missioned to Bladensburg, Maryland, where she served as a Math and Computer Teacher at Elizabeth Seton High School (1968 to 1982). Sister returned to Baltimore in 1982 to serve at Seton High School as a Math Teacher (1982 to 1984) and as an Alumnae Moderator (1984 to 1988). In 1988, Sister Rita served as an Alumnae Moderator at All Saints High School in Washington, D.C., (1988 to 1989); then, she returned to Elizabeth Seton High School where she served as a Math and Computer Teacher (1989 to 1992). Having completed her ministry in education in 1992, Sister Rita was then missioned to Emmitsburg where she served until 2013 in several roles: as Bookkeeper both at Seton Center and the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton; as Assistant to the Senior Sisters; as a Clerk in the Gift Shop at Villa St. Michael; and in Hospitality at St. Joseph House. In 2013, Sister Rita joined the Ministry of Prayer at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg; she served there until the time of her death.
Sister Rita was preceded in death by her parents and eight siblings, including her sister, Sister Mary Ann Bozel, D.C., who died in 2014, and brother, Reverend Monsignor Robert A. Bozel, who died in 2012. She is survived by her sister, Ann Delaney of Tampa, Fla.; sisters-in-law, Joan (Maurice) M. Bozel of Lutherville, Maryland, and Leila Bozel of Towson, Maryland; many nieces and nephews; many friends; and her Sisters in Community.