LEE, Mass. — Rita Fontana, 98, formerly of Crossway Village, Lee, died Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019, at Lee HealthCare.

Born in Adams on Sept. 2, 1920, daughter of Josephine Demastrie and Rene Blanchet, she was educated in Adams schools and a graduate of the former Bliss Business School. She married Raymond Fontana in 1943 and worked for the Department of the Navy in Richmond, Calif., and Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii.

She and her family settled in Lee, where she and her husband owned and operated the Handy Package Store for 25 years. After spending several years in Dunedin, Fla., where her husband died in 1990, she returned to the Berkshires.

Rita leaves a son, Paul E. Fontana of Dunedin, Fla.; a daughter, Marilyn Fontana of Lenox, Mass.; and nieces, nephews and many cousins.

Besides her husband, she was predeceased by a son, Dennis, in 1969; a brother Donald Blanchette; and a sister, Joan Tompkins.

Funeral notice: A memorial service will be held at a date to be announced at the First Congregational Church of Lee. Burial will be private. Donations may be made in care of the Kelly Funeral Home to the Congregational Church of Lee or to Doctors without Borders.