Rita R. Keliher

Rita Keliher, 93, of Hingham, Massachusetts, passed away on June 12th, 2022. She was predeceased by her husband, Charlie Keliher and leaves a lasting legacy of family members with her daughter Patricia (Keliher) McIsaac and husband Frank, their kids Lauren McIsaac, Andrew McIsaac, his wife Caitlin and their two girls Molly and Claire, her daughter Kathy (Keliher) Crowley and husband Jim Crowley, their children Kelly (Crowley) Gorra, Jeff Gorra, their children Jake, Lillian, Matthew and Parker, Michael Crowley and his wife Jodey Byers, and Jack Crowley.

 Rita was born on October 21st, 1928, the 13th of 13 kids who grew up in Cambridge, MA. She married Charlie Keliher in 1951, and they achieved their dream to move out to the “country” to Hingham, Massachusetts, where they purchased a beautiful “corner lot”. It was just a short walk from the ocean where they raised their two beloved girls.

 Despite moving to the suburbs, Rita always kept her Irish Cambridge roots in the forefront. After raising her family and the passing of her husband Charlie, Rita went to work for the first time and got a job in customer service at Hitchcock Shoes in Hingham. Rita had the Irish Gift of the Gab, and this job suited her perfectly. Being a city girl, Rita never had a reason to get a driver’s license, but now with this new job, she had a reason, so she got her license for the first time at age 66. The rearview mirror and side mirrors were mere suggestions for use, but she did it and made it through the rest of her career with a clean driving record.

 Rita always had a joke ready to go or in hand. As the years went on and memory got trickier, she would always have a few printout papers of jokes prepared to pull out of her pocketbook. She had an infectious laugh that made everyone else laugh even harder.

 Born into the Great Depression, Rita lived through 93 years of so many massive changes in the world, and she evolved along with them. “Oh, Imagine!” was a typical response, but her response to change and ability to adapt is something that her kids, grandkids, and six great-grandchildren learned a great lesson from that will stay with us. When it came to matters that were important to her, she was as stubborn as they come and a fierce protector of her religion and values- another virtue left as a legacy.  

 Over the last eight years, her great grandchildren called her Go-Go Rita instead of Great Grandma because it described her perfectly. Not one to be tied down by the physical limits of a wheelchair or other health constraints, she kept going. Wheeling around, attending every BINGO game or craft fair she could at Queen Anne’s Nursing Home, her home for the last six years.

The family is planning a celebration of life at a later date. They ask that in place of flowers, anyone wishing to remember Rita can donate to the Globe Santa, a charity that Go-Go Rita was passionate about.