Henriette 'Rette' Witte O'Neill

Henriette ""Rette"" Witte O'Neill, 91, died Friday September 13. She was married to Francis ""Frank"" O'Neill for 43 years. Rette was born June 6, 1922 in Richmond, VA and grew up in Charleston, SC. She was the daughter of Armin Franz Witte Sr. and Hattie McGilvery Sparkman Witte. On September 20, 1952, she married Frank O'Neill of Cleveland, OH at St. Dennis in Yonkers, NY. She is survived by her 10 children; Terry (Liz), Tom (Tex), Bob ""the fav"" (Laurie), Mary Ellen (Jeff) Sampson, Phil (Andee), Cathy (Jack) O'Neil, Jim (Susanna), Peggy (Bill) Bartusiak, Patty (Kenny) Crosson and Eileen. She attributes her large family to being hard of hearing. Each night her husband and she would go to bed, and with the look in his eye he would ask ""Do you want to go to sleep or what?"" Not hearing well she would say ""What?"" Hence the large family. They have 15 grandchildren; Jason, Jennifer, Johnny, Catie, Blake, Courtney, Patrick, Rebecca, David, Tim, Kristin, Casey, Sean, Eric and Sami. She was preceded in death by Hubby Frank, Brother Armin Franz Witte Jr., Sister Harriet King, Son-in-law Jeff Sampson, Daughters-in-law Andee O'Neill and Debra ""Tex"" O'Neill. She went to school and became a Medical Technologist and was at the cutting edge of her profession. She could have had a career in modeling but that was derailed when she met the love of her life, Frank. They met while playing bridge and were a match made in heaven. In 1959 they moved to Colorado, where she discovered a love for camping and fishing. She taught her husband how to fish and he developed a lifelong passion for it. They passed this love of camping and fishing on to their children. She taught her children the love of the outdoors. They probably did this to get the kids out of the house so they could enjoy a little peace and quiet. She became an avid bird watcher and would enjoy trips to Bosque del Apache to watch the cranes. She could identify hundreds of birds including the dodos in her own home. Later in life she discovered that she liked gambling in the mountain casinos. We would take her to the mountains and she would gamble with our money. She would always brag that she never lost. Of course not, because she used our money. She enjoyed the drive in the mountains as much as the gambling. Rette was a loving mother and almost strict disciplinarian who would often utter the famous words ""Wait until your father comes home"" which to this day instills fear into our hearts. She also had ""the look"" which could stop you in your tracks. She was an extremely hard worker, raising ten kids is no easy job. She was a great cook and even better seamstress. She could sew almost anything. She made dresses, shirts, pants and even made a suit. She was a genius with a needle and thread, she could repair anything that we would ruin. She was the MacGyver of mom's. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd. Burial will be private. An open house will immediately follow the service at Bob and Laurie's house. Mom we will miss you and will cherish the memories that you have left us with. We love you.