Obituary of Rita M. Hynes

A Memorial Mass will be held 10:00 AM on Saturday November 7, 2020 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. 

Burial of cremains to immediatley follow at Calvary Cemetey, Woodside, Queens. 

Rita Mary Hynes was born to Thomas V. Fitzgerald and Anna Posochowicz on June 8, 1943. She was a devoted wife to John M. Hynes for fifty-two years, mother to Michael Hynes and Anna Hynes Setaro, mother-in-law to Joseph B. Setaro and beloved grandmother to Julia and Joseph Setaro. She is survived by her sisters Elizabeth (Betty) Piccirillo, Barbara Burrows, and Maureen Heaney, her brothers Thomas Fitzgerald and his wife Graceanne, James Fitzgerald, and William Fitzgerald and his wife Annie. Rita was predeceased by her sister Patricia Fitzgerald. She was an aunt to thirty-seven nieces and nephews, their husbands and wives and their children. She was a godmother to many.

Rita was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and died in the Marine Park neighborhood of Brooklyn on October 15, 2020. A Brooklyn girl all her life, she graduated from Fort Hamilton High School in 1960. A devout Catholic who was once a novitiate with the Dominican Sisters, she ultimately decided on a different path for which her husband and children are forever grateful. Rita had various careers working at J.P. Morgan, Kingsborough Community College, a school crossing guard and finally, in a job she loved, as a Police Administrative Aide for the Intelligence division of the NYPD.

Rita loved to make people laugh with her unique sense of humor and was always the life of the party, dressing in crazy hats or in costumes like the Easter Bunny. Generous with her time, she was a familiar face in the parish and school of Good Shepherd serving as a Eucharistic minister, the founder of the Booster Club, member of the Rosary Society serving as President for a year, a member of the Catholic Club, part of the planning committee for the 50th jubilee of Good Shepherd Church, organizer of the annual Christmas Boutique, and even coached a fifth-grade girls basketball team for the school - their losing record proving her lack of knowledge of the sport but not her lack of enthusiasm and love for the girls on the team.

She loved going on cruises with her husband, daisies, hanging out with the Dominican Sisters in Amityville, the animal kingdom, gardening, singing and dancing, practical jokes and surprising people. Rita was a cheerleader for her kids and all of their friends, rarely missing a game, often not knowing why she was cheering but always the loudest in the stands or behind the dugout, and always driving to and from games with a car full of kids as the unofficial chauffeur. She loved her friends and family with all of her heart but was especially proud of her grandchildren. She spent her final years taking care of herself and her husband and remained fiercely and proudly independent until the end of her life. Rita has gone to her eternal resting place and will be missed by many.

A private wake was held at Marine Park Funeral Home with her immediate family.