Rita A Dupuis

WAUNAKEE – Rita Ann Dupuis, a gracious lady at age 76, passed away peacefully at Agrace HospiceCare on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, with her family and friends at her side. Her passing was the culmination of a 2 1/2-year battle with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare but aggressive liver cancer. She was born in Wausau, Wis., on May 13, 1943, to Ceil and Edward Mijal. She completed her nursing education in 1964 and married her high school sweetheart, Rene Dupuis. They moved to Madison so he could continue his engineering education at the UW; Rita became a RN and started her 35-year career as a psych nurse at Mendota Mental Health Institute. Rita worked with children and adolescents as well as adults. She was a staunch advocate for her patients; she eventually became a nursing supervisor, and in that role, she had to ensure that a patient being presented for admission was properly committed. There were in that time period several up-state sheriffs, judges and district attorneys who tried to force admissions without the proper steps being taken. They were refused as she reminded them that she was in charge of admissions not them. The lady was simply not intimidated. Rita had a passion for gardening, became a Master Gardener and volunteered many hours over the years to be a meet-and-greet person at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. She had her own numerous large flower beds at home and her Waunakee home garden was selected for the Olbrich garden tour in 1999. Rita and was born with a “green thumb” like no other. This year she had hundreds of cleomes, all very colorful and over 6 feet tall among all the other varieties and cultivars we mortals could never remember. If you were visiting her gardens and looked at a plant twice, it was yours and you were taking it home. You just did not know that. She traveled with the Hearty Plant Society here and abroad to view other gardens. International travel was one of her favorite activities and she made numerous trips abroad with family and friends, many times to check out plants (and the cuisine) around the globe. The southern hemisphere seemed to her to have an advantage over those in the northern part of the globe when it comes to flowering plants. The botanical gardens of Cape Town, South Africa were always her favorite, but Italy was a close second in her view. Rita was an avid reader, was very active with her book club group, breakfast group, bridge group and swim group, some of these going back for decades. She was a genuine people person and had befriended and mentored many. If you were her friend, you were her friend for life and part of her family. For that we will miss her never-ending thoughtfulness, care and concern for our well-being. We were taught to do it with class and complete the work on time. Not bad advice: if you wanted dinner, you had better do it. Holidays were a special time in her household. Decorations abounded to reflect the season with good food, good friends and good times to follow. We will be hard pressed to repeat what she could create for those of us that knew her during the endearing times of Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. She was proud of her Polish heritage and carried those traditions forward. Her ability to listen and quickly discern an issue was an innate skill she had as a psych nurse. She could sense a problem before it got legs. But in the end, she could not rest until you were somehow made better. You should know this lady was deadly serious about a game of cards. Rita would run a double skunk on you in cribbage before your ice settled in your drink. She would then give you no more than five seconds to wallow in your self-pity. If your mental acuity was lacking that day, she would give you a 24-hour pass, that’s all. Then it’s back to pulling your own weight. The only advantage we had over her was with anything to do with mechanical repairs, her tool kit was a knife or fork along with super glue. Lordy, you never knew what to expect. On the other hand, she was extremely delighted with the progress women made in the workplace and athletics and followed developments and the women’s world cup soccer games closely as well as the Badgers and Packers. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Rene; and three children, Michelle, Justin (Marji) and Matt (Pam). She has two grandchildren, Zach and Ally, who were the center of love and attention for her. She had dearly wanted to be here to see them into their adult life and pursuits. Her parents preceded her in death; she is also survived by her brother, Ron; and 72 first cousins from the Mijal side of the family. Her most favorite cousin however was Eugene; they grew up together and always had that special relationship. A memorial service will be held at ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH, 7450 University Ave., Middleton, at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, with Father Brian Wilk presiding. Visitation will be held at GUNDERSON WEST FUNERAL AND CREMATION CARE, 7435 University Ave., Middleton, from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019, and at church from 10 a.m. until the start of the service on Thursday. The family would like to thank the oncologists, nurses and staff at the UW Cancer Center. Their care, and especially that of Agrace HospiceCare, in her final hours were truly remarkable. If you are so inclined to donate in her memory, Olbrich Gardens and Agrace HospiceCare would be her wish or one of your choice. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson West Funeral & Cremation Care 7435 University Ave. (608) 831-6761