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Rita Shook Horton, 85, will be dearly missed by her family. She is survived by her brother and best friend, Charles A. Shook and family; children, Rita Loy Simmons, Sharron Geilenfeldt and husband, Richard, Tom Horton Jr.; grandchildren, Jim, Leslie, Mike, Mary, Clair, Lee Ann, Tom; eight great-grandchildren, and many other loving family members and friends. Services will be held Saturday, January 31, 2004, 10:30 a.m., at French Mortuary, Lomas Blvd. Chapel. Interment will follow at Mountain Valley Cemetery, Barton, NM. Rita moved to New Mexico in 1930 from Tahoka, TX. She graduated from Albuquerque High School. On December 27, 1937, she married the love of her life, Tom Horton. They happily enjoyed 64 adventurous years until Tom's death in 2001. Rita's interests encompassed farming, ranching, homemaking, sewing, painting, writing, pottery, traveling, Eastern Star, history, geology, exploring Lake Powell and the rest of the world. She traveled at every opportunity and saw only the positive side of every excursion. Rita had a lifelong passion for learning, which led her to study, among other things, geology and geo-hydrology. Together with her husband they developed the Entranosa Water Corp. in the 1970's. She continued to research geology and develop her own theories on how the world was built right up until she passed away. In addition to maintaining a ranch where they grew wheat, pinto beans, and cattle, Rita traveled with her husband during the 1960's, as they built hospitals, churches, and schools for the Board of National Missions of the Presbyterian Church. One of Rita's many life achievements were the 20 years she devoted to her son, Tom's, physical rehabilitation. Rita served on the Santa Fe County Road Advisory Committee for 20 years and was instrumental in getting major East Mountain roads paved. She was a member emeritus of the Estancia Basin Water Planning Committee. Rita saw herself as a problem solver; there was no task she was afraid to take on. She described herself as a "a seamstress unpaid, dairy maid, and two or three hired hands." To her family and friends, she was so much more. French Mortuary 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE 275-3500
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