Rita Louise Maddex

Rita L. Maddex, 81, of Metamora, Illinois, passed away on September 15, 2024, in Peoria, Illinois. She was born in Beardstown, Illinois, to Kenneth K. Perkins and Hazel M. Filbert. She married Tom Maddex on November 11, 1972, in Peoria, Illinois. He preceded her in death on April 26, 2013.

Rita is survived by her brother, Mark (Tom Strickland) Filbert; sister-in-law, Janet (Todd) Healy; three nephews, Rick Clayton, Mike McKown, and Mark (Brigitte) McKown; niece, Susan (Greg) Allen; and great niece, Sophia McKown. 

She was preceded in death by her parents and husband; stepfather, Merideth Filbert; sister, Peggy Clayton; and nephew, Mitchell McKown.

Rita chose nursing as a career and was a very proud certified Critical Care Registered Nurse. She was a graduate of Bushnell-Prairie City High School in 1961 and completed an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) from Illinois Central College in 1976, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from Sangamon State University in 1987. She was a diligent worker and earned the nickname "Sarge" for a reason. She was a very effective teacher of nursing skills, and reading EKG’s was a specialty of hers. Rita cared for many open heart surgery and critically ill patients over the years, working at the Methodist Hospital Intensive Care Unit for ten years and then the Proctor Hospital Intensive Care Unit for nineteen years. Prior to beginning her nursing career, Rita worked at the Illinois Bell Telephone Company for ten years.

Rita had many longtime friends, too many to name, and was quick to make new friends wherever she went—she was not shy! Rita and Tom enjoyed hockey games and playing board and card games with friends and neighbors. She was a life-long lover of cats! In addition to caring for her own inside cats, she also provided outside housing and care for feral cats in her retirement years, often having them spayed and neutered before re-releasing them for population control.

She enjoyed playing the piano, was an avid reader, and a listener of audio books. She loved crafting for the seasons and had a wreath for every occasion; Halloween and Christmas were her favorite holidays. She enjoyed spending time with family and friends and loved to cook. She cherished the “sister/cousin excursions” to Brown County in Indiana. She enjoyed rides through the country looking at old barns and loved flowers in the garden. Rita had a pair of earrings for every outfit! She will be missed by many whose lives she touched.

Cremation rites have been accorded by Illini Cremation. A celebration of life will be held at at Snyder Village Center, 1200 East Partridge Street in Metamora, Illinois, on October 9th from 1:00 to 2:30. She will be laid to rest, with her husband, Tom, at Foster Cemetery in Fairview, Illinois. Online memorials and condolences can be made at illinicremation.com. Memorials can also be made to the Tazewell Animal Protective Society, any animal shelter, or the Snyder Village Resident Fund.