Palestine High School Alumni Association

Rita Irene Sullivan 1947

05 / 29 / 1930  –  08 / 16 / 2007

Services for Rita Irene Sullivan Arnett, 77, of Holly Lake Ranch, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 25, 2007 at First Christian Church of Palestine. Burial will follow at Livelyville Cemetery in Grapeland under the direction of Bailey & Foster Funeral Home, Palestine.

Mrs. Arnett died Thursday August 16, 2007 at Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton, Colo.

She was born May 29, 1930 in Palestine to Willie and Willie Mae Taylor Sullivan.

Mrs. Arnett attended Palestine High School and Texas Christian University. She was a member of the First Christian Church in Palestine and First Christian Church in Tyler. She was at her most joyous while singing in their choirs.She was a member of The Eastern Star and the Red Hat Society. She also served in the Texas State Bar Association Auxiliary.

Mrs. Arnett was preceded in death by her parents and was the widow of William B. Barton of Chickasha, Okla. and Tripoli, Libya, and Lee Arnett of Brownsville.

She is survived by her daughter, Candace Barton Matthews of Littleton, Colo., her sons, William Barton of Scituate, Mass., J.E. Bret Barton of Austin and Phillip Barton of Denver, Colo.; her sister, Claire Sullivan McCreary of Palestine; six grandchildren, W. Coleman Barton, Karina Barton, Joseph Matthews, Alyssa Barton, Philycia Barton and Samantha Barton.

Pallbearers will be Kevin McCreary, Charles Vibrock, T.C. Beavis, George Patton, W.P. Alford, and Don Denson.

Honorary pallbearer will be Richard Matthews.

Condolence calls will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Bailey & Foster Funeral Home, Palestine.

The family requests that memorials be made to the American Cancer Society or to the music department of the First Christian Church.

Source: Palestine Herald-Press 08-23-2007