Rita Marie (Entrop) Mitcho

Rita Marie (Entrop) Mitcho, 86, of Girard, passed away on Monday, June 30, 2025, at home surrounded by her loving family. She was born August 11, 1938, in Westphalia, Texas, daughter of the late Albert and Helena (Rieger) Entrop. She was the wife of the late Nicholas John Mitcho.

Rita fondly recalled a childhood filled with love, shaped by life in a simple four-room house, long days working alongside her family in their cotton fields, and the distant sound of the Angelus bells from the Church of the Visitation calling them to pause and pray. Those early years, molded by faith, family, and hard work, guided her entire life. She graduated from Lott High School in 1956 and then earned a degree in Secretarial Science from Durham Business College in Austin, Texas. She met her husband Nick during his military service at the former Lackland Air Force Base near Austin. They married and settled in Girard, Nick’s hometown, where Rita devoted herself to raising their four children.

Rita later worked at Copes Vulcan, Inc. in Lake City as the administrative assistant to the Vice President of Sales, retiring after 28 years. She was a member of St. John the Evangelist Church from her earliest days in Girard, where she volunteered at funeral dinners, taught Vacation Bible School, and wrote and edited the parish newsletter, Logos.

Although she filled many roles with dedication during her career and church service, she most cherished being Nick’s wife and mother to their four children, who were her “pride and joy,” as well as Grammie to her thirteen grandchildren and one great-grandson. Her kitchen became the hearth and home of the family. Whether she was making a quick burger for a grandchild, preparing a holiday feast, hosting lunch for a pinochle game, or just sitting at the counter listening with compassion to the child, grandchild, or neighbor who dropped by, this was where Rita was in her glory. She leaves a legacy of faith, kindness, humility, hard work, putting people over possessions, and, above all, an unshakable belief in the love and bond of family. Each of these values have roots that go back to that cotton field of her childhood.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of sixty-five years, Nicholas John Mitcho; and her sister, Rose Lee (Entrop) Landry.

Rita will be greatly missed by her children, Kim Dudas (Gary Dudas), Karen Stroupe (Scott Stroupe), Mark Mitcho (Sabine Mitcho), and Michelle Mitcho; her thirteen grandchildren, Jason Dudas, Ashley Smith, Justin Dudas, Nicole McKean, Jordan Dudas, Alexis Dudas, Garrett Stroupe, Lauren Stroupe, Lena Mitcho, Sean Mitcho, Sarah Webster, Tyler Jemetz, and Kevin Jemetz; her great-grandson Xavier Smith; and her brother, Harold Entrop.

The family would like to thank Interim Hospice for their caring support.

Memorials may be made to Elk Valley PTO Kindergarten Projects, 2556 Maple Ave, Lake City, PA 16423 or to the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1001 Main St E, Girard, PA 16417.

At her request, services will be held privately with family, in the care of Edder Family Funeral Home, LLC; interment will take place at St. John the Evangelist Cemetery.

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