Rita Kay Paterson

Monroe, Utah – Our beloved wife, mother, and sister, Rita Kay Paterson, age 82, passed away on May 6, 2025 at her home in Monroe.

Rita was born on March 23, 1943 in Santa Monica, California to Edwin Leroy and Norma Jean Coffey Hammond. She grew up in a neighborhood with many young children; she said there were over 20 in a block and a half. Her mother worked nights, so as the oldest child Rita was given the task of fixing dinner at a very young age. As an adult she cooked most holiday dinners for the extended family so her children would know that they were part of a bigger family.

Rita married Joseph Craig Paterson on June 5, 1961 in Santa Monica. They later divorced. She married Jerome Ashheim on August 1, 1966 in Las Vegas, Nevada and they later divorced. She remarried Craig on June 5, 1971 and they spent the rest of their lives together.

Rita was a disciplinarian in getting their children to do what they should do. She wasn’t afraid to speak up when she berated her son’s soccer coach for yelling at the team or later telling a doctor what she thought of him for trying to get her to do something she didn’t want to do. She worked as a waitress for over 20 years. She said she liked it because she brought home money every day. She and her husband Craig bought the Little Wonder Café in 1994 and operated it for 19 years. She also opened a gift shop upstairs and operated that for a few years.

Rita’s many interests were cooking, sewing, gardening, and casinos (not necessarily in that order). She and Craig traveled widely and went on many cruises. She was a homemaker and painted all the rooms in their two-story house and hung many family and cruise pictures on the walls. In the summer she would spend all day outside cleaning flower beds and planting things. If she got hot she would point the hose up in the air and give herself a shower. She was proud of their yard with good reason. She was a loving and caring person who will be missed by all that knew her.

Rita is survived by her husband, Craig Paterson; her daughter Tracy (Andrew) Petro; her brother Jack (Jan) Hammond; all of Monroe; her sisters: Peggy Molloy of Cave Creek, Arizona; Sue (Russ) Wagner of Prescott, Arizona; Tina Plott of Glendale, Arizona; 3 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Edwin and Norma; her step-father, Frank Biagi; her sons: Michael Paterson and Brian Ashheim; her sister, Angela Biagi.

Graveside services for Rita will be held at 12 Noon on Saturday, May 17, 2025 in the Monroe Cemetery, under the care of the Springer Turner Funeral Homes, of Richfield and Salina, Utah.