SOUTHWEST HARBOR – Rita (Johnson) Kenway, 80, passed away Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, at Collier’s Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Ellsworth. Rita was born Jan. 21, 1931, in Framingham, Mass.
Rita developed artistic talents by studying with several local artists. Her watercolor, “Homeward Bound,” is in the permanent collection of DeCordova Museum, Concord, Mass. Rita also loved singing and performing. She was a member of Gilbert and Sullivan Players, Manchester, Conn. She participated in several church choirs, including Saint Savior’s Church, Bar Harbor. Rita joined Acadia Choral Society in 1985. Rita married E. Northwood Kenway, Aug. 20, 1950, and discovered Great Gott Island, located across from Bass Harbor. She began to spend whole summers there with their children beginning in 1956. Fascinated by the histories and genealogies of her neighbors, she researched and wrote her book, The History of Gott’s Island, Maine.
Rita is survived by her husband of 60 years, E. Northwood Kenway of Southwest Harbor; their children, Lester C. Kenway and his wife, Elsa Sanborn, of Bangor, Geoffrey W. Kenway and his wife, Kathie, of Troutdale, Ore., and Nancy K. Rigdon and her husband, Kevin, of Niantic, Conn.; and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 315 Main St., Southwest Harbor. Burial will be on Gotts Island later this year. Those wishing may make donations in Rita’s memory to Hancock County Homecare and Hospice, 82 Water St., P.O. Box 156, Blue Hill, ME 04614.