Rita Angela Sunny departed this earth on Friday, May 29, 2020, at the age of 96. She passed away peacefully while asleep in her apartment in Pawling, New York where she lived independently.
Rita was born September 3, 1923 to Carrie Granato Soda and Joseph Soda in Derby, Connecticut as their first daughter. She would become a sister to her younger brother Joseph Soda Jr. who she loved dearly. Her parents were prominent figures in the community running a beloved local restaurant, Club Soda. Assisting with her family business, Rita was a focused student from a young age. She read voraciously, danced, and was active in her church. The first in her family to enter the medical field, Rita completed her clinical training as a registered nurse in Bridgeport Nursing School where she excelled and served as President of the class. Her commitment to service was further demonstrated when she joined the Army and served as a Lieutenant during World War II as a nurse deployed across the country to San Francisco, California where she cared for wounded soldiers returning to American soil from the Pacific. After fulfilling her 3 years of service she would return home to meet the love of her life on a blind date. Ernest Sunny had also just returned home to Connecticut after being stationed in Okinawa as a Marine during WWII. Together they raised their beautiful family, and Rita continued to be a caretaker even after she retired from nursing eventually going on to care for her own aging mother. After the loss of her husband in 2010 she would move to a thriving senior community in Pawling, New York where she would go on to develop friendships that provided new meaning to her life.
Rita is survived by her 3 daughters, Diane Montstream in Naples, Florida, Jeanne Hilton, her husband Allen Hilton, granddaughter Megan Ballou, husband Rodney Ballou and 3 great-granddaughters Aries, Montana and Memphis Ballou in Sanford, Maine, and Tina Herrera, RN who lives in Pawling, NY with her husband Nilo Herrera, MD and her 3 grandchildren Elena, Teresa and Christina Herrera, MD. She is remembered fondly by her family as a practical woman of pious faith.
In the setting of the COVID pandemic, there will be no formal funeral services. She will be interred with military honors at Mount St Peter’s Cemetery in Derby, Connecticut.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Horn & Thomes, Inc. Funeral Home, 83 East Main Street, Pawling, NY.
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