Rita A. (Guthrie) Ramalho
Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend.
Rita A. (Guthrie) Ramalho, 86, of Lowell, Massachusetts, a member of a well-known Lowell family, passed away on Tuesday January 16, 2024, at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, MA after a courageous battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Rita grew up in Lowell surrounded by her large family, she had 10 siblings and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. She met the love of her life, the late James Ramalho, when she was in high school, and they married shortly after graduation. James (Jimmy) meant the world to her, and they would have been married 66 years February 15th.
Born in Lowell, MA, December 11, 1937, the daughter of the late Joseph and the late Rita (Mullen) Guthrie, she attended Lowell Schools and was a graduate of Keith Hall.
Prior to her retirement, Rita worked as an Inspector for Raytheon Corporation for over 23 years in the South Lowell plant where she had many close friends. She enjoyed meeting with her group of retired co-workers regularly for coffee and lunch. Rita was also known for talking on the phone for hours! She especially liked to do this with her friends and her sister Joan! When she was healthy, she liked to stay active. She loved to bowl, do arts and crafts, especially ceramics, take long walks on the boulevard and was an active member of the Red Hat Society in Chelmsford. She also volunteered at the polls for every local election. She was an avid reader of all types of magazines which she collected and loved to clip out articles and send them to her children and grandchildren. Spending her entire life in Lowell, she liked to keep up with what was going on in the city, so she read the Lowell Sun every day. She loved the ocean and with her late husband Jimmy, owned a vacation home for many years at Hampton Beach where she would enjoy walking and sitting on the beach at sunset. She loved to spend time with her family, especially her grandchildren, and was overjoyed this year to become a great-grandmother in July and December. She was an active parishioner at Sacred Heart Church until 2004 and most recently a member of St. Rita’s Parish.
She is survived by her daughter, Sandra J. Saltamartini and her partner, Bill Siff of East Hampstead, New Hampshire; two sons Michael J. Ramalho and his wife Catherine of Pelham, NH, and Stephen P. Ramalho and his wife Donna of Dracut, MA; five grandchildren Kara Saltamartini Dean and her husband Christopher of Philadelphia, PA, Lauren Saltamartini Popp and her husband Stephen of Philadelphia, PA, Julie Saltamartini and her partner Collin Travers of Devens, MA, Nicholas J. Ramalho of Pelham, NH, and Ashley A. Ramalho and her partner Hunter Pelletier of Pelham, NH; two great-granddaughters Emily Dean and Arielle Popp; five siblings Joan Hart of Lowell, MA, Daniel Guthrie of North Hampton, NH, Richard Guthrie and his wife Brenda of Lowell, MA, John Guthrie and his wife Debbie of Groton, MA, Thomas Guthrie and his wife Kim of Orlando Florida; She is also survived by many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.
She was the sister of the late Joseph Guthrie, Mary Stevens, Helene Reed, Roger Guthrie, and Robert Guthrie.
Relatives and friends will be received for a Memorial Visitation at the O’DONNELL FUNERAL HOME 276 PAWTUCKET ST. in Lowell on Saturday morning January 20, 2024, from 9:30 to 12:00 P.M. Funeral Service to immediately follow in the Funeral Home. Burial will be held privately for the family. E-condolences/directions at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Those wishing to, may make contributions in her memory to the COPD Foundation at copdfoundation.org or the American Cancer Society, 3 Speen St., Suite 250, Framingham, MA 01701. Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O’Donnell, Jr. (978) 458-8768.
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