Rita Emma (Leonardi) Odorizzi

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Rita Odorizzi on Saturday, April 25, 2020, surrounded by loved ones in Jasper.

Rita Leonardi Odorizzi was born in Tuenno, Italy on April 01, 1936.  She was raised there, along with her twelve siblings, until she came to Canada to marry her fiance, Quinto Odorizzi. They were married on September 15, 1959 in Edmonton.

She will be lovingly remembered by many relations and especially by her husband Quinto and her three daughters: Susan Richards (Jim) of Jasper, Janet Block (Rob) of Jasper, and Marina Gosselin (Ron) of Victoria; her seven grandchildren: Christopher (Christina), Justin,  Kendall (Bernt), Jarrett (Kaitlyn), Stephanie, Nathaniel and Tristen, as well as her 3 great grand children:  Lincoln, Jaxon and Blayke.

Rita was predeceased by her parents:  Giuseppe (1971) and Viola Leonardi (1949) and five siblings: Natale (1931), Mario Leonardi (1984), Giovanni Leonardi (2010), Maria Valentini (2012) and Francesco Leonardi (2016).  All her siblings were from her hometown in Tuenno, Italy.   She is survived by eight brothers and sisters, both in Italy and Canada.

Rita loved Jasper and spent a lot of time hiking the many mountain trails. 

She always wanted to get to the top of every mountain and around every corner to see what was on the other side.  While in those mountains, she would love to find all the seasonal flowers and she could tell you the name of each and everyone of them.  In the winter months, you would find her out on her cross-country skies.

Rita also loved to travel.  Quinto and Rita ventured to many different countries and always came home with so many wonderful stories. 

In the later years they would travel back to Italy almost every year to visit with their many brothers and sisters.  Tuenno is full of apple orchards and they would love to go either in the spring when the trees were in full bloom or in the fall when they would help pick all the apples.

Rita took great pride in her beautiful home and yard.  She spent a lot of time enjoying her large vegetable garden, green house and many flower beds.

She also loved sewing, knitting and cooking.  She will always be remembered for her apple strudel, carrot cakes, biscotti and jams, and most of all, for her wonderful smile.  

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Rita may be made to The Friends of Jasper at https://www.friendsofjasper.com/ca/donate/, or 780-852-4767.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Rita Emma (Leonardi) Odorizzi, please visit our floral store.