A sign proudly hangs in Rita's craft room saying, "I started with nothing and have most of it left."  This is the perfect example of her wry sense of humor, but oh so far from the reality of her life.  When born in July of 1937, she started with the love and strength of her family and as she grew through life, collected the love and admiration of so many others.  Her life was rich indeed.

Her faith defined the way she lived and the way she treated all those she interacted with.  She sang in churches all over Kansas and Oklahoma and played the piano in church for many years.  Her early love of music came from singing with her brother Dale and family.  She also sang and played hymns on her old piano at home with her grandchildren in her lap, fostering a legacy of quiet, steady faith that will endure throughout the generations of her family.

Rita Krug went home to be with Jesus on Saturday, March 27 ^th at the age of 83, where she will walk into the loving arms of her parents, Floyd and Alice (Dunbar) Billiter, and see her infant daughter, Shelley.  She will be rejoicing to be with the Heavenly Father she so faithfully served throughout her life on earth.

With her love of all things beautiful, Rita created many incredible paintings that she generously gifted to her friends and family.  Her paintings were prized and even won awards at the Kansas State Fair.  She painted the old Atlanta Schoolhouse and memorialized forever the building that held precious memories for so many.  These were sold and the profits donated to the Atlanta Community Building fund.

Sweet, giving, calm, and kind are words most often used to describe Rita.  She always had time to spare to listen to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  This often occurred over shared dessert, Rita's favorite.  The grandchildren will well remember that at Grandma's house, it was always acceptable to eat dessert first.

As a bookkeeper for many years both for the Atlanta COOP and the Cowley County Rural Water District, she was the epitome of meticulous organization.  Her home was more along the lines of organized chaos, from crafting supplies, an array of colorful threads and fabrics, and piles of books, Rita surrounded herself with the things that gave her pleasure in life.

She loved beautiful flowers and could spend hours walking through a garden.  She couldn't resist a craft fair, though always too frugal with money to buy the handmade crafts of others, she would take pictures or file away the details and then create them herself.

Rita married a wayward cowboy, Norman Krug, on June 10 ^th , 1956 and they spent the next 65 years building a life and family worthy of admiration.  They have three sons:  Timothy Todd, Thomas Norman, and Michael Tyrone, along with one daughter Shelley Rae.  They have five grandchildren:   Candice, Nicholas, Ashley, Melissa, and Kristin, along with 7 great-grandchildren (and one on the way).

Rita was also survived by a brother, Dale Billiter, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held at the Atlanta Cemetery on Saturday, April 3 ^rd at 2:00 pm.  A gathering at the Atlanta Senior Center (previously Atlanta Methodist Church) will follow the ceremony.

A memorial has been established in Rita's name for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and for Hospice of North Central Oklahoma.  Contributions may be made through the funeral home.

Though the family mourns the loss of an immensely special person here on earth, we serve a risen Savior and will be joined together again.  "His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master." – Matthew 25:21