Margaret Maria (Jarasius) Ford

Margaret “Rita” Maria (Jarasius) Ford

Margaret “Rita” Maria (Jarasius) Ford, age 64, of Mechanicsburg, and formerly of Lansing, IL, passed away on Sunday, July 23, 2023.  Rita was born on Monday, March 16, 1959, in Kenosha, WI to the late Edmundas Jarasius and Janina (Sankauskaite) Jarasius.  In addition to her parents and daughter Laura, Rita is preceded in death by her brother: Edmundas; and her granddaughter: Josie Lucas.

Rita’s survivors include her husband of 38 years, Donald Ford; her 3 children: Eric Ford and his wife, Cheyenne, of Mechanicsburg; Aurimas Ford of Lancaster, NY; Jeanelle Lucas and her husband, Michael, of Marysville, OH; her seven grandchildren: Sadie Lucas; Tea Lucas; Elijah Lucas; Anna Lucas; Ava Ford; Mila Ford; Greyson Tabaczynski; and her brother: Arvidas Jarasius.

Rita graduated from Thorton High School in Lansing, IL as part of the class of 1975 and from Southern Illinois University.  She was a wonderful person with a big heart. Rita loved to garden, and she spent many hours with Donald (usually forced labor on his part) working in her yards over the years making all of the landscaping look ‘just right’. She was able to enjoy many wonderful vacations together with her family from her honeymoon in Maine (where she eventually lived for 5 years) to her most recent all-family (13 of them!) vacation in Cancun. Donald will sorely miss his adventure partner.

Contributions in celebration of Rita’s life can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, www.StJude.org/Donate or to ASPCA, ASPCA Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090-6929, www.aspca.org/ways-to-give.

Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial gathering and time of food and fellowship at Buhrig’s Gathering Place, 25 East Main Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, (717) 766-3421 (next to Buhrig Funeral Home & Crematory), on Sunday, August 20, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Over 100 parking spaces are available; just look for the “Buhrig” parking signs in all of the parking lots.

Rita’s family has entrusted her care to Buhrig Funeral Home & Crematory in Mechanicsburg, (717) 766-3421.  Read Rita’s full obituary, view her memorial video and portrait, offer condolences and sympathy, share stories and memories, upload photographs and videos, light a candle and sign her official guest book by visiting Buhrig.com.