Rita Sharpe Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Rita Sharpe, 83, passed away peacefully surrounded by her daughters on Saturday, July 30, 2016 in McPherson, Kansas. Rita was born on July 6, 1933 to Marian (Orr) and Walter Sharpe, at the family farm near Chase, Kansas. She went to school in Chase and graduated from Chase High School in 1951.Following her marriage to Duane Banman, Rita raised her family in McPherson. She was an active and involved mother who provided volunteer support for her daughters' activities including PTA, room mother, Campfire Girls group leader and board member, and the United Methodist Church. She could always be counted on to drive a carload of kids for class field trips, debate tournaments and music events. Rita was an excellent seamstress and became a small business owner to fund her daughters' college educations.After her daughters were grown, Rita moved to Lindsborg and established herself in the visual arts community. She became an accomplished and prolific Dalaclarian folk painter. Her work has been featured in exhibits of Scandanavian folk art in the US and Sweden and is a part of many public and personal art collections throughout the country. She served on the boards of the Lindsborg Arts Council, the Raymer Society, and the Sandzen Gallery. Rita also managed the Prairie Woods artists' cooperative. During those years, she cherished the opportunity to talk to people about art and reconnect with family friends who just happened into Prairie Woods studio when they visited Lindsborg.Rita will be remembered as a loving and helpful mother and grandmother, a loyal and hard working volunteer, a thoughtful friend with a gift for listening, and a talented artist. She is survived by her daughters and their families, Terry and Bill Baldwin, McPherson, Kansas, and granddaughter Rane Baldwin, Boston, Massachusetts; Denise and Jim McDonald, Seattle, Washington; Melea and David Oxley, Medicine Lodge, Kansas; and grandson Jonathan Oxley, Tallahassee, Florida; Lorri and Chris Gurnett and granddaughters Sara and Erin Gurnett, Thornton, Colorado; and her brother, Charles Orr Sharpe, Lyons, Kansas.A private memorial service is being planned. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Lindsborg Arts Council, the Autism Society of America, or the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and can be sent to the Glidden-Ediger Funeral Home, 222 W. Euclid St.; McPherson, KS 67460.