[Nfbf-l] FW: [Gduf-l] Sad news

Sat Apr 9 03:59:49 UTC 2011

I was told today that Rita passed at work this afternoon.
.
Rita was one of a kind. She was an all around grand person. I never heard
Rita say a bad thing about anyone. She gave everything she had to the ones
who knew her.

I went down to Southeastern for a visit with a group of students. Prior to
leaving the guide dog school, Rita gave me a bag. She told me it was for
Jacy. Rita and I had been working on getting me down to the school, with
Jacy, for a week of training with the trainers. She told me that Jacy would
not be a problem. Rita and the girls in the office would take good care of
him. Now, Rita had been telling me this since Jacy was born. At conventions,
as Jacy got older, she always had something fun for him to play with. At the
National ACB convention in Orlando, she invited Jacy to attend the breakfast
SGD put on. She then told him that he had to bring his mommy. She gave him a
note pad, pen and a stuffed puppy. I asked about purchasing another puppy
and she explained that she had brought that one just for him and she did not
have anymore, with her.

After picking up Jacy today from school, he asked me about Ms. Rita from the
dog school. He wanted to know when he was going to see her again. I was
waiting for the bus and just cried. I explained that Ms. Rita was visiting
with his Nana, my mom, and Ms. Zeena, my original driver at work. He then
said, Mommy was she real sick or just a little? Why didn't the doctors fix
her? Those questions run through my head from time to time, too. I new Rita
was ill, I just did not know how bad. I saw and spoke to her at Top Dog and
I am glad I did. Jacy remembers seeing her there and giving her a huge hug.
I think he hurt her that day, but she didn't say anything.

What a lady. Words really cannot express all the memories, thoughts and
feeling going through my head right now.

May God be with Rita's dear family, keep them close and help them through
these challenging times.

Thank you,
Holly

On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 11:11 PM, Kathy Davis <kdavisnfbf at cfl.rr.com> wrote:

> Dear NFBF Friends,
> I am absolutely stunned to tell you that our dear and treasured friend,
> Rita
> Princivalli passed away as the result of cancer. I am simply stunned by
> this
> news as I didn't even know Rita was ill.
>
> I tried to reach her several times to no avail and Allen Bornstein tried to
> connect with her too. What a complete and utter shock!!
>
> For those of you who did not know Rita well, you may remember that she is
> the terrific and giving woman who put on the "What's New and Cool for the
> Blind" seminar at state convention.
>
> Please read on to see what Debbie Grubb, has to say about Rita. Bless her
> dear and giving heart!
> Often Rita told people that the reason she became a puppy raiser was
> because
> when she worked for the Center for the Visually Impaired here in Daytona
> Beach, Rita simply fell in love with my first Seeing Eye dog, Dorsey. It
> was
> also because of a dear friend's guide dog named Heidi.
>
> I will miss her and so regret that I had no idea that she was battling
> cancer. God bless her giving heart and her love for blind people and their
> guide dogs.
>
> Kathy
>
>
>  _____
>
> From: Patricia A. Lipovsky [mailto:plipovsky at cfl.rr.com]
> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 7:26 PM
> To: Kathy Davis
> Subject: Fw: [Gduf-l] Sad news
>
>
> Hi Kathy.
>
> I didn't know if you had heard or not so I thought I would forward this to
> you.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Debbie Grubb <mailto:debbiecg at verizon.net>
> To: Guide Dog Users of Florida <mailto:gduf-l at emissives.com>
> Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 12:28 PM
> Subject: [Gduf-l] Sad news
>
> Because Rita Princivalli touched the lives of so many guide dog users, I am
> sharing the message with you that I just sent to the Southeastern Guide Dog
> Users e-mail list.
>
>
>
> hello Freedom Family,
>
> I am saddened to post the news of the passing of our beloved friend, Rita
> Princivalli.  Today, Rita lost the valiant battle that she had been waging
> against cancer.  Rita's was the first voice that many of us heard as we
> arranged for our first or return visit to Southeastern Guide Dogs.  Rita's
> presence during class brought each student respite from the stress of guide
> dog school and a touch of longing for home, important knowledge about
> caring
> for our dogs, vital information about the Americans with Disabilities Act ,
> our access rights and responsibilities, and opportunities for enjoyable
> activities on and off campus.  Having had the opportunity to spend time
> with
> Rita and her friend, David, I know beyond a doubt that the affection and
> respect that all of us felt for Rita was returned in abundance.
>
> Rita's daughter is about to give birth to her second child.  When she is
> able to travel, there will be a memorial service for our dear friend, Rita,
> at Southeastern Guide Dogs.  Information about that service and Rita's
> wishes for her remembrance will be sent to this list as soon as it is
> available.
>
> Please feel free to send this message to your friends who knew Rita and
> were, like all of us, the beneficiaries of her friendship, expertise,
> commitment to the guide dog movement and overwhelming kindness.
>
> I will close this note with two personal experiences i had with our friend,
> Rita.  When my husband, Frela, was fighting his own personal battle with
> cancer, Rita's friend, David, at Rita's request, was one of the wonderful
> volunteers who drove Frela and me to Moffitt.  David and Frela became good
> friends and being with him brought Frela much comfort.  Many times, David
> used Rita's car for this purpose.  Soon after Frela's death, although Rita
> was herself fighting cancer, she and David took me out to dinner and we
> spent a delightful afternoon together.  At that dinner, Rita gave me a
> beautiful memory that I will cherish always.  During the previous
> Thankstgiving, when it was David's turn to give thanks, he gave thanks for
> the opportunity of knowing my husband.  I will always carry the memory in
> my
> heart of Rita's voice as she shared that precious private family moment
> with
> me.
>
> When I, as event coordinator for Top Dog 2011, asked Rita to bring us her
> excellent canine first aid program, she said "yes" without hesitation.
>  When
> her family asked her what she wanted for Christmas last year, she asked
> them
> for funds that she added to those generously provided by Southeastern Guide
> Dogs to purchase the first aid kits that we who attended Top Dog 2011
> received.  By January of this year, Rita was gravely ill.  David and her
> family were anxious to get her to Chicago where her family lived and where
> it was hoped she could receive more expert medical attention.  Rita refused
> to go until after Top Dog.  She said that Top Dog 2011 would probably be
> the
> last guide dog event that she would attend and participate in and she
> wanted
> to give all of us this last gift.  Rita came to us riding a scooter and
> brought to us her excellent canine first aid presentation and her terribly
> compelling and amusing anecdotes as a puppy raiser during the puppy raiser
> panel.  Rita remained with us for the entirety of the conference and
> although she must have been exhausted, she and David gave a Southeastern
> student a ride to the school from orlando.  That's just who Rita was.
>
> There are no words to describe how much Rita will be missed by all of us
> who
> work a Southeastern guide dog and by the many other guide dog handlers who
> were touched by Rita's warmth, kindness and generous heart when they met
> her
> during various conferences at which she represented our school.
>
> Please remember Rita's friend, David and her daughter in your thoughts and
> prayers.
>
> Until we remember Rita's life formally, I know that each of us will
> remember
> her privately in our own way.
>
>
> Respectfully,
>
>
>
> Debbie Grubb
> debbiecg at verizon.net
>
>
>  _____
>
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>
>
>
>  _____
>
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"God gives you 86,400 seconds in a day. Take one to say Thank You."
Walter A. Ward