Rita Teresa Mary Ginn passed away peacefully on July 10, 2019, at the age of 90, in Astoria, Oregon.
A funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 1465 Grand Ave. in Astoria, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, 2019.
Prior to the funeral Mass, there will be a viewing held at 9 a.m., followed by a rosary at 10 a.m., on Saturday July 20, 2019, at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary, 1165 Franklin Ave. in Astoria.
Rita was born Jan. 13, 1929, in Sawtelle, California, to John Sven Hakanson and Rosilda Mary (Bourdon) Hakanson. Her family moved to Eugene, Oregon, in 1934, and then to Seaside, Oregon, where Rita graduated from Seaside High School in 1948. After college, she settled in Astoria.
After high school, Rita attended Oregon State College in Corvallis, and was certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists as a medical technologist. She worked for many years as a lab technician at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria before leaving to raise her family.
Rita married Forrest “Merrill” Ginn on April 25, 1959, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Astoria. Rita and Merrill were both private pilots, and met at the Astoria Regional Airport. She enjoyed racing small planes, and participated in the Powder Puff Derby from Seattle, Washington, to Clearwater, Florida, in July 1966.
In addition to flying, she enjoyed family gatherings, connecting with her Swedish cousins, gardening, bridge and golf. For over 40 years, her favorite avocation was doing genealogy research for both family and friends, including self-publishing several family genealogy books.
Rita is survived by her three children, Diane Forst (husband, Jim Forst), Steven Ginn and Kenny Ginn; three siblings, Jeannette Schmitz, Robert Hakanson (wife, Peggy Hakanson), and Cecile Starr; one brother-in-law, Robert Ginn (wife, Sheryl Ginn); and a large batch of nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Merrill, on May 17, 2015, at the age of 93; and by six of her 10 siblings.
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