28 Jan Obit: Rita Koroma, UB Missionary Teacher
Rita Wild Koroma, 87, passed away on January 8 in Oxford, England. She served as a missionary teacher in Sierra Leone 1954-1962.
Rita was the daughter of Rev. Fred Wild, who served UB churches in the Midwest for 48 years, including Milltown, SD., and the Rockford and Coleta churches in Illinois. She graduated from Huntington University, and later earned a Masters in History from Northwestern University.
Rita arrived in Sierra Leone during the early stages of the Mattru High School, where she served under principal E. DeWitt Baker. She taught at the school for ten years, and served one year as interim principal while the Bakers were on furlough. In 1963 she married Adams Koroma, and spent the rest of her days in England.
Alexander Nixon
Posted at 00:27h, 05 JulyI knew Rita during my student days in Oxford. She worked as a receptionist for an eye specialist in whose building I had a flat and we became friends. She had a lively Christian faith, and she put it into action. She was a genuinely very kind person who always ready to lend a helping hand and offer encouragement during difficult times. When I left, we kept in touch by letter. However, her hand writing was terrible, and I frequently had to telephone her to ask about the contents of any letter. We used to laugh about this quite regularly. Like me, she was a keen walker and she used to walk for miles with a local walking club, she had so much energy and determination which belied her age and many of the walkers found it difficult to keep up with her. I remember one day out we had, when we went to Avebury in Wiltshire to see the crop circles. We had a lovely time, and she often spoke of this day out, as she approved of my girlfriend at that time, whom she converted to Christianity.
Unfortunately we lost touch with each other, and I discovered only a few weeks ago that she was a resident in a nursing home in Oxford. My wife and I planned to visit this summer. That, unfortunately, was not to be. She will be with Our Lord in paradise, and I am sure she is rejoicing with the saints and Our Lady. May she rest in peace and rise in glory. I will have a mass offered for her in a few days time.
Douglas Kelly
Posted at 12:58h, 07 DecemberRita was my great Aunt Rita. Her sister Ardis was my grandmother. She would visit us from England in Jacksonville, FL, USA from time to time during my younger childhood but we lost touch in the later years. I was not as close to her as my grandmother but I still enjoyed her stories and the cool gifts she would bring me.