Sr. Rita Smith, OP
Dominican Sisters of Amityville
Sunday morning, August 23, 2026, as the sun began to shine after a thunderstorm, our dear Sister Rita Smith was taken into the arms of God. Sister Rita was 93 years old and had served the people of God as a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville for almost 74 years.
On July 20, 1933, Robert and Mary (Walsh) Smith, both natives of Brooklyn, NY, welcomed their daughter Rita into their family in Lindenhurst, NY. Rita joined her sisters Josie, Betty, Martha, Anna, Marie, Theresa, Elsie, and her brothers John, James and Robert. Her sister Patty soon completed the family of twelve living children. There were eighteen children in all, but sadly, six didn’t survive. Rita and her siblings went to Our Lady of Perpetual Help School where they were taught by the Sisters of St. Dominic. Rita continued her education at Queen of the Rosary Academy in Amityville, NY.
Rita was received as a postulant of the Sisters of St. Dominic on September 6, 1952. On August 4, 1953, Rita along with her “set”, known as the “Pink Carnations” was clothed in the Dominican habit. She was given the religious name Sister Jude Martin. The group professed First Vows on August 7, 1954 and Final Vows on August 7, 1957.
Sister received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Molloy College, now University, in Rockville Centre, NY, a Master of Arts Degree in Pastoral Ministry from Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, NY, and a Certificate in Counseling in Drug and Alcoholism from South Oaks Institute, Amityville, NY.
Sister taught at the elementary school level for thirty years. She taught at St. Clement Pope School, South Ozone Park, NY; St John the Evangelist School, Riverhead, NY; St. Ignatius Loyola School, Hicksville, NY; Our Lady of Lourdes School, Massapequa Park, NY; Child Development Center, Westbury, NY, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Lindenhurst, NY. She truly enjoyed all of these teaching experiences. In 1984, Sister Rita moved into Secondary Education at St. John the Baptist High School, West Islip, NY. She soon realized that there was a problem with drug and alcohol abuse among some students and their families. This prompted her to get her Certification in Drug and Alcohol Counseling from South Oaks. She used these counseling skills at St John the Baptist, as well as at Crossings Recovery Centers in both Babylon and Deer Park. In 2007, she became the Intake Coordinator for the Town of Babylon Division of Drug and Alcohol. Upon retirement, she worked as a volunteer in many capacities.
Sister Rita was very close to her family and cared for several family members as
they aged. In turn, her nieces and nephews were very present to her in the years
that she lived in the Motherhouse.
Sister Rita was described by some of our sisters as a quiet peace-maker, honest, authentic, and a compassionate, loyal, prayerful woman who was good company, comfortable to be around, and a great dancer!
Rita has been pre-deceased by her parents and all of her siblings. She was deeply saddened that her younger sister Patty died before she did. Imagine the great family reunion taking place as Rita is welcomed home!
Rita will be missed by many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews as well as great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews. The Sisters of St. Dominic, especially the members of the “Pink Carnation Set” – Catherine Enterlin, Colleen Therese Fogarty, Audrey Harsen, Joan Losson, Eva Mazzetta, Eileen Nolan, Joan Nolan, and Patricia Walsh as well as her dear friend from high school Anthony Therese Roncallo, and Carolann Masone, the last sister to share local community life with Rita. She will also be missed by the Nursing, Dietary, and Housekeeping staffs of the Motherhouse, especially those on the third floor in Carlin Hall who cared for her.
