Rita Lewis Emery, 92, of Clinton Township, NJ, passed over peacefully in her sleep on July 21, 2023.  Her son, Jerry; his wife, Susie; their two children, Jason and Katie; and her daughter, Melody were with her that evening.

Rita was born as a force to be reckoned with on Feb 12, 1931, in Jamestown, NY. As the sixth and final child, Rita always thought she was special because school was closed on her birthday. It wasn’t until she got older that she realized school was actually closed due to it being George Washington’s birthday and, thus, a federal holiday. Yet, as Rita’s life would demonstrate, she was special as a woman who broke traditional barriers and carved out a path that was uniquely her own.

Rita moved to Clinton Township, NJ, ultimately meeting motorcycle riding bad boy Gerald (Jerry) Emery while she was in high school. Seventeen months after she graduated in 1949, they were married and moved into a small house in Annandale, NJ. And, so their lives and her legacy began.

Rita was overjoyed to have their first child, Gerald Emery Jr., in July 1953. To support their growing family, they moved to what-would-be their forever home on Route 31 in Clinton Township in September 1954. While always wanting a large family, Rita was thrilled to finally welcome their second and last child, daughter Melody Emery Hayner, in February 1960. As was typical for the hardworking couple, Rita and Jerry Sr. built an addition by hand, transforming their modest home into the stunner it is today. Despite her 5’, 100 lb. (soaking wet) frame, Rita was no stranger to digging, carrying, and doing the hard manual labor herself. She always got the job done by her I’ll do it myself mentality.

The young couple found commonalities in their entrepreneurial spirit. In her typical save the day fashion, Rita would work behind the scenes as an impromptu accountant, lawyer, and business strategist to make her husband’s next big idea a reality. Some of those big ideas included owning a resin manufacturing business, machine shop, and a plastics molding company. Despite the traditional roles, Rita was driven to become a rare trifecta in her era: flawless homemaker, incredible mother, and the smartest business woman you’d ever meet.

Rita and Jerry’s business success came from an unexpected venture: an auto body shop. Jerry’s Auto Body (probably should have been called Jerry & Rita’s Auto Body!) started as a part-time side gig on their property. Rita would set up Jerry Jr. in his playpen in the garage while she worked on the cars (!) with Jerry Sr. It’s safe to say Jerry Jr. was destined to help run the body shop as he inevitably did for many years alongside Jerry Sr. Despite having to deal with their car accidents, many residents have fond memories of coming to the shop to chat with either Jerry Sr. or Jerry Jr. as they made arrangements to fix their vehicles.  But, what many customers didn’t see, was Rita working masterfully at bookkeeping in the sunlit back office, using her trusted adding machines to balance every book to the literal last penny.

When Jerry Sr. got sick and was no longer able to attend to the auto body shop, Rita continued to manage the business, with Jerry Jr. taking on all of the estimating and sales. After Jerry Sr.’s death in 2013, Rita was determined to keep the business alive by turning it into an LLC and becoming sole proprietor. Speaking to the integrity of the business, Jerry’s Auto Body employed the same wonderful crew of guys for many, many years, including Danny Wilson, Russ Houck, and Sig Albarran.  Danny Wilson was actually hired around 1967 when the shop became a full-time business and worked with Rita and Jerry Jr. until Jerry’s Auto Body repaired their last car around Sept 2018. After 51 incredible years, Rita was ready for retirement, leaving her more time to tend to her gardens and to watch as many crime shows, like Law and Order, as her heart desired.

Rita sang in Sweet Adeline’s, loved taking care of her adored cats, enjoyed tending to her cherished plants and flowers, raised chihuahuas, and was a true crime enthusiast before true crime enthusiasm was even a thing. She did every job in the body shop, was an expert seamstress who sewed clothes, doll clothes and costumes, and did upholstery and leatherwork. She loved to paint nature-themed figurines and statues in her basement workshop, all of which could be found on her carefully groomed property.

Rita’s entire house was decorated for every season, but especially for Christmas and Halloween. Rita even had a very large Charlie Brown-inspired wooden Great Pumpkin cut-out that would curiously appear on Halloween as if magically floating and walking outside along the fence. Rita would shout, “The Great Pumpkin is here!” and her grandchildren would run to the windows of her favorite all-seasons room, believing the Great Pumpkin to be in the same mythical esteem as Santa Claus. Rita also loved dining with friends and family, always starting her meal with a salad with ranch dressing, and toasting with her obligatory glass of white zinfandel.

Rita was preceded in death by her parent, Daniel S. Lewis, born in Indiana, PA, and Lena Schemble (Luducia Symbelite), born in Lithuania; her brothers Dan’l Lewis from Chambersburg, PA, and Patrick Lewis from Jamestown, NY; her sisters Georgianna Acker from Clinton, NJ, and Marianna Waterman from the Village of Ashville, NY; and her husband Gerald Emery Sr.

She is survived by her brother, Barney Lewis of Oregon; her son Gerald Emery Jr. and his wife, Susie Konya Emery of Whitehouse Station, NJ; her daughter Melody Emery Hayner of Northumberland, PA; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Rita leaves a legacy of being an empowered, inspirational, and beautiful woman who relied exclusively on herself to make her life happen how she wanted. She was rationally frugal, saving everything down to a small piece of rope because she would actually reuse or repurpose it. No, really! She was self-determined: if she could do it, she was doing it by hand. Her wisdom lives on through the many life lessons she gifted to her loved ones. As Frank Sinatra, one of her least favorite singers, would say, Rita did it her way, and the world is a better place because she was in it.

Rita will lie in repose on Thursday, August 3, 2023, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

Life celebration services will take place at 7:00 p.m. and to which all are welcome.

Interment in the family plot at Jamestown, NY, will take place privately at a later date.

You are encouraged to visit Rita’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

Memorial contributions in her honor and memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, vial mail to 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or online by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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