Rita Spradlin Caruth

Rita Spradlin Caruth passed away the morning of January 6, 2021, after a valiant and difficult year battling cervical cancer.

She was a frequent patient at Mary Washington Hospital, their radiology clinic, and the area hematology and oncology clinic. She thanks the many doctors, nurses, and caregivers involved in her treatment. She had seizures the morning of New Year’s Day, and was in an induced coma for 5 days before passing.

Rita was one of three daughters of George and Dorothy Spradlin who lived at the corner of Brock Road and Piney Branch road in Spotsylvania County, VA. She is survived by two sisters Sharon Barrett (Tom) of Richmond, VA and Debbie Rothgeb of Salem, VA; and Debbie’s adult children John Newman Rothgeb and Suzanne Rothgeb. Rita also leaves behind Spradlin relatives in the local area and in Tennessee where her parents grew up, and Daugherty relatives in Tennessee. George Spradlin owned and operated Electric Motor Repair off Lafayette Boulevard.

In her early years Rita attended Goshen Baptist Church and sang in the choir.

Her husband of over 40 years, Greg, was her constant companion. In September 1980, Greg met Rita in Georgetown on Sept 13, 1980, and they married 1 Jan 1981- a short courtship, a simple ceremony, and a successful marriage. They celebrated their meeting date and marriage date, often with a visit to the Inn at Little Washington.

Rita obtained her bachelors in education from James Madison College majoring in math and library science, then received her master’s degree from there in library science. Rita became an elementary school librarian at Livingston Elementary and spent nearly 25 years at Robert E. Lee Elementary at Spotsylvania Courthouse. Her Accelerated Reader program was an amazing success and was loved by the students. Students read books, took tests on them, and earned points for prizes. Hundreds of students earned footballs, and dolls, and soccer balls and games.

They vacationed all over Europe, Asia, Australia, and Egypt, and visited China twice, and saw nearly every historical city and ancient ruin. They walked on the Great Wall, toured the Forbidden City, entered the great pyramid and Tut's tomb, and walked the streets of Pompeii and Ephesus. Frequent visitors to the UK, they loved London and old towns like Bath and Stratford. A highlight a year ago was 2-week trip in Florence seeing all the museums. They spent nearly 2 years total on the beaches in St Martin, 2-3 weeks per visit.

Their retirement years were also spent volunteering with Historic Fredericksburg Foundation and the Fredericksburg Area Museum, and Kenmore in their earlier years.

Their marriage was made in heaven and they saw the world, and were seldom apart.