Obituary of Rita Mary Vater

Rita Mary Vater 70, passed away peacefully on August 1, 2021, at St. Joseph's Hospital of Wayne, N.J. Born July 16, 1951, in Paterson, N.J. She was the daughter of Rita Wood and the late Daniel Wood. She was the big sister to Daniel Wood, Glen Wood, and Iris Pierantozzi and predeceased by her brother Brian Wood, and Gary Wood. She was a former employee of little bear day care in Pompton Plains, N.J. Prior to that she had her own cleaning business for 35 Years while single handedly raising 3 daughters. She was jokingly known as "The Warden" While raising her daughters with tough love, great work ethic, good manners, & a go get-'em attitude, producing "3 tuff cookies"! After fully retiring 3 years ago, she spent her time doing whatever she wanted which included plenty of trips to Atlantic City with her Aunt Teresa and cousin Terry to gamble, shop, eat and watch the shows. She made plenty of friends in her senior complex who will miss seeing her outside in the "smoking/Gossip area"and bingo. Rita decided to take on a new job with lots of perks. She has decided to oversee her loved ones from afar, while maintaining her social life with past friends and family. Her downtime will still include having a cigarette with a good cup of coffee & some type of carb, gambling of some sort, and last but not least keeping her promise to show up as a red cardinal to let us know she's keeping an eye on us. Past job duties of keeping family traditions alive will now be handled by her 3 daughters, Rita, Lisa, & Kelly & their assistants Fred, Mike, & Barry. Rita will have her hands full being a guardian Angel to 7 grandkids Amanda, Cassie, Kayla,Brooke, Daniel, Angel, & Mason. Rita was a loving Daughter, Sister, Niece, Mother, Mimi, Aunt and friend. She leaves behind countless memories, a million laughs, and a tuff act to follow. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to: Southern Paws Inc. You can donate through their Web page http://www.southernpawsinc.org or send donations to: Southern Paws P.O. Box 174 Ringwood, NJ 07456.

All services are private at the request of the family.