Rita Darveaux 1931-2021

Rita Ann Darveaux, 90, Holton, died Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, at Holton Community Hospital.

She was born April 25, 1931, in Dawson, Neb., the daughter of Sabastian John and Mary C. Alfers Koelzer. She graduated from Falls City High School in 1949.

Mrs. Darveaux and her husband owned and operated Darveaux Construction Company for many years. She was also a homemaker and worked her earlier years at Bobo’s Drive-In and Hallmark Cards.

She was a former member of St. Dominic Catholic Church in Holton and a current member of St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Church in Valley Falls, where she was a member of the Altar Society and taught many CCD classes. She and her husband hosted many foreign exchange students.

She married Bernard “Bunny” Darveaux on Nov. 21, 1950, in Falls City, Neb. He died July 17, 2021, after more than 70 years of marriage. She was also preceded in death by her parents; two sons, Glenn J. and Darrell J. Darveaux; a grandson, Tyler Darveaux; two sisters, Dorothy Koelzer Kerl and Marjorie Kopf; and three brothers, Bernard, Jerry and Robert Koelzer.

Survivors include her children, Gerald J. Darveaux and wife Lori, Valley Falls, Cindy A. Darveaux, Nortonville, Bill J. Darveaux and wife Terri, Holton, Cathryn A. Lauer and husband Andrew John, Meriden, and Bernard J. “B.J.” Darveaux Jr. and wife Kristina, Ozawkie; a sister, Mary E. “Typ” Simpson, Omaha, Neb.; 13 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.

Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 at St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Valley Falls. A rosary will be recited at 9 a.m. Saturday at the church. Inurnment will follow in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Valley Falls. There will be a book available to sign at Mercer Funeral Home in Valley Falls or in Holton.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, sent in care of Mercer Funeral Home, P.O. Box 6, Valley Falls, KS 66088.