Rita Crews

(From Clark Funeral Home)

Rita Marie (Gatlin) Crews, age 66, left this world on Sunday, January 30, 2022. We grieve, but not as those who are without hope. She is now seeing Jesus face to face and singing with the choirs of Heaven, and someday we will see Him and sing along with her.

Rita lived life with enthusiasm. From planting flower bulbs, to directing children’s choirs, to managing business finances, to scrubbing laundry stains, there was no task she would not undertake with joy and vigor. She was genuinely interested in others, showing it by inquiring of their life stories in great detail. She made friends everywhere she went. She saw the best in others. She was an eternal optimist.

Rita was born August 23, 1955, to Calvin and Joyce (Lauritsen) Gatlin in Colby, Kansas. She grew up there, the third of eight children, learning to value dependability, thrift, and work ethic. From early childhood, Rita showed an inclination toward music. In the family Christmas letter of 1956, her mom called sixteen-month-old Rita their family’s “little songbird.” From age eight, Rita began playing the piano for church services at Lone Star Church and continued to serve the Lord as a church piano player for the next fifty-eight years. In her school years, she twirled fire batons in the marching band and worked as a babysitter, waitress, and gas station attendant. She pursued excellence in everything she did, graduating from Colby High School in 1973 as valedictorian and president of the Pep Club. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 1977, with a dual major in music therapy and music education and a minor in pipe organ performance. After college, she worked as a music therapist at Parsons State Hospital. While living in Parsons, KS, she met and married Paul Steven Crews on January 23, 1982.

Paul and Rita built a home northeast of Neosho, where they raised three children–McKinzie, Matthew, and Maria. This home is the site of much LIFE. There they homeschooled their children from 1992-2007, and started a business—Crews Construction, Inc.—which operated successfully for over twenty-five years. Around the dining table, they hosted many dinners and played countless games. Around the pianos (yes, pianos, up to four at one point) in the basement, Rita taught piano lessons, and the family enjoyed musical times of worship. Before marrying, Rita even gave Paul guitar lessons, but once they were engaged, he quit.

Rita enjoyed adventures in new places, foreign and domestic. As a child, she traveled with her family to forty-five out of fifty states. In 2015, Paul and Rita kicked off their grandparenting years with a month-long RV trip of the western states, including stops at Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone. Closer to home, the Crews family enjoyed dozens of camping trips over the years. They also made multiple trips out of state each year to visit family. Rita participated in several Golden Passport tours of midwestern destinations organized by her sister Wilma. She visited (she’d like us to have the exact number here, followed by the list, but we can’t come up with that off the top of our head) Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, and also Europe several times. She relished traveling with her son Matthew, most recently visiting relatives in Denmark in September 2021.

Rita was active all her life. Paul and Rita were in a jogging group in their early courtship days. With friends from this morning jogging group, they would also go out witnessing, talking with people about Jesus. In 2002, the Crews family joined the new Neosho YMCA, and Rita spent countless happy hours there swimming, lifting weights, and—her favorite—taking exercise classes. In 2020, Rita completed the requisite miles to be inducted into the Y’s 100 Mile Swim Club. She laminated pages of scripture to place at the end of the lane, which she worked on memorizing as she swam laps (she and Maria memorized many chapters of the Bible together over the years). In 2021, mostly on early morning runs while Paul and Matthew played racquetball, she ran over 1,000 miles. She called these running miles her “sweet hour of prayer.” Rita invested in the health of her body as well as the health of her soul and inspired those around her to do the same.

Rita was involved in the women’s, children’s, and music ministries of Believers Faith Fellowship. She loved to see children’s hearts soften and turn toward the Lord; to that end, she poured energy into children’s church lessons, handbell choir rehearsals, and Vacation Bible School. In Fall 2021, Mrs. Rita, as she was known to the students, took up the position of accompanist for the Neosho Jr. High Choirs. She was excited to interact with the young people during weekly rehearsals, and she was extremely proud of those students.

Rita had a musical gift that she shared readily all her life. Putting baby nieces and nephews on her lap at the piano to introduce them to music, playing the piano in airports all over the world for the enjoyment of fellow travelers, using just the right music in nursing homes to refresh the spirit of residents – Rita used every opportunity to glorify God. In museums and cathedrals all over the world, she had a knack for getting permission to get past the “Do Not Touch” sign on pipe organs and pianos, and marveling everyone with sparkling renditions of “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee.” Her trademark saying was, “When you’re tempted to sin, just add a ‘g’ and SING!”

Rita was preceded in death by her parents Calvin and Joyce Gatlin and brother, Kenneth Gatlin of Colby, KS; and in-laws James and Norma Crews of Neosho, MO. She is survived by her husband Paul; their children McKinzie Newman (Joe) of Norfolk, VA, Matthew Crews of Neosho, MO, Maria Crews of Lewisville, TX; her grandchildren Anna, Paul, and Joel of Norfolk, VA; her siblings (and their spouses): Wilma Lauber (Mike) of Hill City, KS, David Gatlin (Oleva), of Shell Knob, MO, Dorothy Macy (Kenton) of Charleston IL, Diana Weatherford (Kim) of Flower Mound, TX, Duane Gatlin (Christina) of Tomball, TX, and Terry Gatlin (Michelle) of Pratt, KS; her brothers and sisters-in-law Walt and Beverly Crews of Lake Jackson, TX, and Martin and Annette Crews of Neosho, MO; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Friday, February 4, 2022, from 5:00-7:00 pm and a Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, February 5, 2022 at 10:00 AM, both at The Canopy Church, 100 North College Street, Neosho, MO. The service will be livestreamed on the Canopy Neosho's YouTube channel. Private family burial will follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Camp Barnabas (www.campbarnabas.org) or Believer's Faith Fellowship (PO Box 26; Neosho, MO 64850), designated for Ambassadors of Jesus Children's Home in Haiti.