Obituary of Rita Marie Lucas

It is with great sadness that the family and friends of Rita Marie Lucas announce her passing on March 30, 2023 at the age of 82.

Born and raised in Nanticoke, PA, Rita graduated from Nanticoke High School. She later moved to Randolph, NJ, where she lived for the past 46 years.

Rita was a full-time legal secretary up until the age of 80.  She worked for many years with Frank Harding, Esq., with whom she maintained a lifelong friendship, and later worked for many more years for the McElroy Deutsch law firm in Morristown, NJ.

She was passionate about animals and especially loved her pet cats. She had many over the years and doted on every one of them.  She also enjoyed going on cruises, doing needlepoint, and gambling.  She really looked forward to casino trips with her gambling buddies and was quite good at blackjack! 

Rita had been married to the late Zigmund “Chick” Sulewski in the early 1960’s.

She is predeceased by her parents Peter and Natalie (Matusiewicz) Lucas.

She is survived by her sister Pauline Yuhas of Alden, PA; nephews Peter Yuhas (Colleen) of Easton, PA and Steven Yuhas (Joanne) of Wilkes-Barre, PA; niece and goddaughter Marie Lucas Stolarick of Dallas, PA; nephew Richard Dabreau of Hartwick, NY, as well as her sister-in-law and good friend Joanne Sulewski, MD of Buffalo, NY; nephews Jonathan Hill, Esq. of Whippany, NJ and Christopher Hill, VMD (Lori, VMD) of Charleston, SC; long time friends Linda Sens of Rockaway, NJ and Aimee Kierney of Whippany, NJ; and beloved cat, Lily.

Funeral services will be held privately under the direction of Norman Dean Home for Services, 16 Righter Avenue, Denville, NJ 07834-www.normandean.com.  A memorial gathering will take place at a future date. For more information, please contact Linda Sens at LSens1017@gmail.com or Aimee Kierney at Kierney720@gmail.com.

Family and friends wish to send a special thank you to Rashell Henry and Lia Tushishvili for their devoted care of Rita.

Memorial donations in Rita’s memory may be made to Eleventh Hour Rescue, a Morris County volunteer animal rescue organization, c/o PO Box 218, Rockaway, NJ  07866.