HALSTEAD—Katherine Redmond “Kitty” Rizza, 90, retired homemaker, died Saturday, March 27, 2021, at Halstead. She was born Nov. 18, 1930 in Savannah, Georgia to Clyde Evans and Katherine Mizell (Smith) Redmond.
She was a graduate of Savannah High School and attended Armstrong College.
She married her college sweetheart, Robert G. Rizza, MD on Jan. 29, 1956 at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Savannah. After completing his residency in the US Navy, they were stationed in Virginia, California and Japan before moving once again to Virginia. Upon leaving the Navy in 1965, the family headed to Halstead, Kansas where Dr. Rizza accepted a position as Chief of Pediatrics at the Hertzler Clinic. Kitty and Bob lived in Halstead where they reared their family until his retirement in the early 1990s. They enjoyed living at Beaver Lake in northwest Arkansas for 14 years until the health facilitated a move back to Kansas to be closer to the family.
Mrs. Rizza was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. She is survived by her daughter Katy (Bill) Coy, Wichita; sons, Steve (Sarah) Rizza, Halstead; Andy (Beth) Rizza, Georgetown, Texas; Jeremy (Chris) Rizza, Kansas City, Missouri; sister, Jacquelyn Osbourne, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina; four grandsons, two granddaughters, two great-granddaughters, a nephew and a niece.
A Rosary and Mass of the Christian Burial will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, April 10, 2021 at Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Wichita, celebrated by Rev. Daniel J. Spexarth and concelebrated by Rev. Nicholaus L. Jurgensmeyer.
Inurnment will be at a future date at Catholic Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia
Memorials may be given to Saint Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Wichita or Springdale Art Center, Halstead in care of Kaufman Funeral Home, Halstead.
